Oakland police seek motive in shooting that killed 1, hurt 6 at Lake Merritt.
Pair in custody in attack that killed 1, wounded 6
Oakland police said Sunday said they are searching for a motive in the shooting Saturday at Lake Merritt that killed one person and injured six others.
At a news conference at police headquarters, Officer Johnna Watson said authorities were investigating whether the shooting was “connected to any gangs, groups or specific targets.”
Watson said two armed men arrested Saturday after running from the scene remained in custody. Their names were not released. Police said they recovered two firearms.
About 5,000 people were in the vicinity of the 2200 block of Lakeshore Avenue where the shooting occurred Saturday evening, Watson said.
About 10,000 people total had gathered around the lake Saturday to celebrate the first
federally designated Juneteenth holiday, Watson said. Investigators said they believe the celebrations were not connected to the shooting.
Extra patrols were dispatched to the lake Sunday to ensure safety, Watson said.
Police said the gunfire victims were five males ages 16 to 27 and two women, ages 21 and 22. One of the victims, identified as a 22yearold San Francisco man, died at the hospital, police said. His name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The six others were in stable condition. Their identities also were not released.
Watson said police would hold another news conference Monday after investigators conduct more interviews.
Oakland police first received reports of shots fired at 6:22 p.m. Saturday. The shooting sent hundreds of people running from the area. By 7:30 p.m., officers had largely locked down the scene with police tape and the commotion had subsided.
The area at the eastern edge of Lake Merritt was quiet Sunday, attracting little attention from people out exercising or recreating along the lake.
Giselle Herrera and her husband, Jose Tapia, were taking a lunch break Sunday afternoon after setting up a picnic for a client who was celebrating Father’s Day at the lake. The couple, from San Leandro, run a luxury picnic business in the Bay Area and set up special picnics for clients at the lake every other week.
After learning about the Saturday incident via social media, Herrera said she had to ask her client about going forward with the scheduled picnic. “I was shocked,” said Herrera, 22. “We can’t imagine how the little kids felt running.”
Kev Choice, an Oakland resident who lives a block away from the lake, said he was hurt to learn about the shooting. Choice, a musician, was celebrating Juneteenth at the lake Saturday and had left a couple of hours before the shooting occurred for a gig in San Francisco.
“I was really sad and hurt and disappointed,” Choice told the Chronicle in a phone interview. “I was sad that people got injured and sad that something tarnished the image of something positive,” he said referring to the joyful Juneteenth celebrations at the lake.
William Kewley, 38, said Sunday that he was on his way to meet a friend near the southern part of the lake when the gunshots went off Saturday night. The area near Lakeshore and Brooklyn avenues, where Kewley lives, was “shouldertoshoulder busy,” he said.
“It was very clear that it was gunshots and not fireworks,” Kewley recalled. “You saw everybody running in either direction from here.”
Kewley said he was “simply scared” when he heard two sets of gunshots with about 15 bursts each. He was about 300 feet from the area.
Oakland police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to a $40,000 reward for information leading to arrests in this case, increased from $35,000 on Saturday.
Anyone with information, video or photos of this incident should contact Oakland police’s Homicide Division at 5102383821.