Multiple People Shot at Oakland Juneteenth Celebration, Police Say

OAKLAND, Calif. – A June tenth The celebration in Oakland, California, turned violent when several people were shot, police said.

The event at Lake Merritt on Wednesday night was largely peaceful, with about 5,000 attendees, until a side show involving “motorcycles and vehicles” took place around 8:15 p.m. on the north side of the lake, police said in a press release on Thursday. .

A fight broke out across the street from the sideshow and a crowd gathered in the area of ​​the fight, police said.

“During that fight, multiple shots were fired,” said Paul Chambers, strategic communications manager for the Oakland Police Department. The shooting happened at 8:45 p.m. While it was not clear how many people were injured, police said several were struck by gunfire and taken to a hospital. There were no reports of deaths.

As officers tried to move the crowd to safety, several people attacked the OPD officers, Chambers said. At least one person was detained for assaulting a police officer, he said. Police did not say how many officers were attacked.

A large police presence included up to two dozen police vehicles and several ambulances at the scene, KTVU-TV reported. Police said 28 officers and four sergeants were on site to monitor the event.

Celebration attendees were seen talking to police, with some people criticizing the police response, saying they did not respond quickly enough when people were injured, KTVU reported.

Police planned a news conference Thursday afternoon.

In 2021, a filming during a Juneteenth celebration in Lake Merritt left several people injured and a 22-year-old San Francisco man dead.

Police said the investigation into Wednesday night’s shooting was ongoing.