Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Police now say 14 people shot at Oakland sideshow near Lake Merritt last week

OAKLAND — Further investigation has determined that 14 people were shot last week after fights broke out during a sideshow near Lake Merritt — not 15 as originally reportedpolice said Tuesday.

Authorities believe there were several shooters, and are considering several persons of interest, but as of Tuesday afternoon no arrests were announced and no one had been formally charged.

In a news release Tuesday, police said that less than a half-hour after the mass shooting, which happened about 8:45 p.m. June 19 in the 400 block of Grand Avenue, officers were dispatched to another shooting in the area of 10th Avenue and East 24th Street.

Two men were wounded in that shooting; one of them was taken by other people to a hospital and was initially counted as the 15th victim in the Grand Avenue shooting, police said.

Two suspects were arrested in connection with the double shooting, according to authorities.

The mass shooting marred what had been a peaceful day that saw some 5,000 people celebrating the federal holiday of Juneteenth around Lake Merritt earlier in the evening. It happened after fights broke out among numerous people watching a sideshow involving some 20 vehicles, including dirt bikes and ATVs, police said. The gun violence was apparently ignited after a man walked across the hood of a vehicle and was severely beaten by the occupants.

A woman was arrested for allegedly punching two police officers rendering first aid to a victim.