Police officers in Oakland on Monday blamed two warring gangs from San Francisco for the devastating mass shooting incident that took place at Lake Merritt on Saturday.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong held a press conference Monday where he said they believe the shooting was a result of gang violence. The chief also said they believe the group has been responsible for other shooting incidents in recent days.
“We believe this was directly related to group and gang violence and group and gang violence not even connected to the city of Oakland,” Armstrong said. “This appears to be group and gang violence related to the city of San Francisco.”
Mass Shooting Incident
The mass shooting incident at Lake Merritt left one person dead and eight others injured. At the time of the shooting, approximately 10,000 people were at the location to attend several events related to Juneteenth. However, only 5,000 people were in the area where the shooting took place.
The victims of the mass shooting ranged between the ages of 16 to mid-60s. The person who died was reportedly a 22-year-old man from San Francisco.
Investigators have since determined that the shooters were people from outside Oakland and that there were multiple shooters.
“This investigation is still in its early stages, but I think some of the individuals who were shot and are injured — including the individual who unfortunately passed away — I believe were targeted individuals. Those are the individuals who appear to have some gang or group connections with San Francisco,” Oakland Police Lt. Leo Sanchez said. “There are individuals also just part of the festivities, part of the gathering and caught up in crossfire as well.”
