The city of Oakland is currently experiencing a “safety emergency” following the recent string of violence reported over the Fourth of July weekend.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong revealed that the city’s police department responded to at least seven shooting incidents from Sunday night to Monday morning.
“That is what is concerning. The level of celebratory gunfire is something we haven’t seen before,” Armstrong said, according to Fox News. “Does this department need resources? Clearly, we do. We were clearly outnumbered.”
According to police reports, several victims sustained critical injuries from the violence, which began before 6:25 p.m. Sunday until 10 a.m. Monday. At least one person died from the violence.
“The 4th of July is always challenging, and this year was no exception. The level of violence during the 4th took a life and injured six others. Officers were going call-to-call, many of which were critical incidents. OPD was clearly stretched beyond our capacity, keeping our officers working until the early morning hours. Our City has not seen this level of violence in many years,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.
