Oakland Juneteenth celebrations erupt in violence
An Oakland Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt erupted into violence Wednesday night. There is word of multiple people being shot, but nothing has been confirmed by police.
OAKLAND, Calif. – An Oakland Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt erupted into violence Wednesday night. There is word of multiple people being shot, but nothing has been confirmed by police.
This is in the area of Euclid and Grand avenues on the north side of the lake.
An Oakland Police Department spokesperson is headed to the scene.
Just before 9 p.m., activity ramped up and was heard over the police scanner.
A KTVU crew at the scene saw a large police presence with as many as two dozen police vehicles. Multiple ambulances have arrived and several city blocks are closed.
The mood at the scene was described as chaotic and confrontational in the sense that participants in the celebration were getting verbal with police. Some people at the scene were criticizing the police response, saying they didn’t respond quickly enough when people were injured. We have also heard that police were overwhelmed by the crowd, estimated to be at around 300 people.
When KTVU arrived, one man was seen being loaded into an ambulance. There are unconfirmed reports of four people who were shot and another person who was hit by a car.
Tamia Robinson of Richmond said her friend was shot and killed at the event. She said there were sideshows, fighting and that fireworks were going off, which added to the confusion. She said she ran from the sound of the fireworks. Robinson said she had gone to the celebration at around 7 p.m. and noticed things started to go south at around 8:45 p.m.
Robinson claimed police used excessive force. The death of her friend could not immediately be confirmed.
“We don’t have enough love in the community. We don’t have enough outreach for the youth. And this is what happens when you do not have enough resources and you just have bulls in a ring,” Robinson said. “I’m very disappointed. It’s a shame we can’t even get together as a community and enjoy each other, celebrate each other. Celebrate our ancestors without somebody being killed.”
Police officers have fanned out to area hospitals to get a tally of how many victims self transported themselves for medical attention.
This is a breaking news story. We will add more details as we learn them.
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