By Katy St. Clair. Bay City News.
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Sixteen people were hospitalized after violence broke out at a Juneteenth celebration near Oakland's Lake Merritt on Wednesday night, Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said.
At least 15 people were shot, one suffered an unrelated injury and some officers were assaulted after a show erupted into fights and then gunfire in the 400 block of Grand Avenue, Mitchell said at a news conference Thursday.
Police made one arrest for assaulting an officer, but no arrests have yet been made for any of the shootings or other acts of violence.
At about 8:15 p.m., about 20 vehicles, including ATVs and dirt bikes, began an illegal show, Mitchell said. During the show, someone ran over the hood of a vehicle, prompting several people to get out of the car and “violently attack” the person. This then led to multiple fights breaking out along Grand Avenue between Euclid and Bellevue avenues.
“Unfortunately, these fights escalated to multiple individuals firing firearms, and over 50 bullet casings were recovered,” Mitchell said.
When officers arrived and began to render aid to the injured, Mitchell said people in the crowd began attacking officers. Deputy Chief James Beere said officers were punched in the face and upper body.
In all, 15 people went to the hospital with gunshot wounds and one person was treated for an undisclosed injury. The victims are in their 20s and 30s, Mitchell said. Their injuries ranged from minor gunshot wounds or superficial wounds to the loss of fingers. One person was still in critical condition Thursday afternoon.
The Oakland Police Officers Association blamed the violence toward police on understaffing within the department.
“If city leaders truly value public safety, we must seriously consider adequately staffing the Oakland Police Department,” read a statement released by the union on Thursday. “Yesterday alone, our officers were stretched to the limit, dealing with a homicide, multiple shootings and an incident involving an individual armed with a rifle, in addition to the Juneteenth celebration.”
Mitchell and Beere rejected the idea that there were not enough officers to handle the June 16 event, saying there were 100 officers on patrol Wednesday night, 30 of whom were at the lake.
“You have to understand that this is a big city,” Mitchell said. “We had officers there with special detachments to provide high visibility there.”
Mitchell also said officers had been called to reports of someone with a rifle in West Oakland, and also to a homicide before that.
Mitchell said that starting this summer, Oakland police will request assistance from other law enforcement agencies and his department will restrict traffic flow in the area of the melee to reduce the opportunity for sideshows. He also said that an increased police presence will be planned for the Fourth of July.
“The opportunity to celebrate with family and friends should never be marred by gunfire,” Mitchell said, adding that the department will “work tirelessly” to identify and arrest the suspects involved in Wednesday’s shootings.
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