OAKLAND — A 19-year-old woman found fatally shot Tuesday night inside her car after it crashed in East Oakland was identified Thursday as Madisyn Alandra Suzanne White-Carroll and described by those who knew her as having “the most beautiful soul inside and out.”
Police so far have not released a motive for her killing and have not announced any arrests.
Carroll, an Oakland resident who had four younger siblings, was found shot just before 9 p.m. Tuesday inside her vehicle that had crashed in the 9800 block of E Street. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities believe she was on her way home but don’t know if she was shot before or after the crash.
Family members are remembering Carroll, who had just celebrated a birthday two weeks ago, as grounded, caring and full of promise, and hoping others will feel motivated to come forward and contact investigators.
“She was such a good girl, she didn’t drink, smoke, none of that, no boyfriend,” Madisyn’s mother Shauna White and father Erik Carroll said. “She was focused on figuring out how to use her intelligence” and channeled it into artistic work like styling clothing and makeup, White said.
White spoke warmly of her daughter’s integrity and self-possession.
“She was just very grounded,” White said, describing Carroll as “like an anchor to me. She was a very serious girl who didn’t go for nonsense. I’m a light(-hearted) person and can be silly, but her humor’s a little different. When she was little, some babies you can tickle, but you would have to perform to make her laugh.”
In an incident White said was illustrative of her daughter’s grace under pressure, she recalled how Carroll, a former hall monitor at her Castro Valley school, had handled herself during a robbery at a local pharmacy.
“We were in Alameda and went to a Walgreens one evening, and wanted to get something that night. Someone held up the store, and I didn’t know about it until a lady came running out,” White said. “Madisyn told them all to run, to go back to the pharmacy area and board it up. She got on the phone with police and gave her statement, and officers who talked to her told me later how brave and smart she was. She was able to help all of those people.”
A GoFundMe account established for donations toward a celebration of life memorial for Carroll described her as “caring big sister” to two younger brothers and two younger sisters and also a loving daughter to her parents.
“Madisyn did not deserve this, she worked hard and went to school and she helped care for her younger siblings. She was such a good girl, so responsible and always had the brightest spirit,” the page read. “Needless to say, this is the most devastating thing that could happen to any parents, and the whole family is completely heartbroken.”
As of Thursday night the fund had raised nearly $4,000 toward a goal of $15,000.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.