#BREAKING 16 year old girl dead following a shooting in downtown Oakland @nbcbayarea 11 pic.twitter.com/DxIWVsaDIC
— Cheryl Hurd (@hurd_hurd) June 15, 2016
A 16-year-old girl was killed in an unusual broad-daylight shooting in downtown Oakland Tuesday that injured six others, boys and girls in their teens and twenties.
Two gunmen on foot opened fire near 13th and Franklin Streets, the Chronicle learns from the Oakland Police Department, near a family memorial gathering on 14th Street. That event: A vigil for two Oakland teens who drowned in a reservoir some weeks ago.
Police arrived at the scene around 5:40 p.m. Officer Kyle Hazen tells the Mercury news.
Shooting downtown, 5:41PM during a vigil, takes life of a 16yr-old and causes non-life threatening injuries to 3 others. #StopTheViolence
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) June 15, 2016
Witnesses describe the scene as chaotic, with "people running every which way,” according to one man at the scene, Mason Stone, who ducked behind a car. An unidentified witness said he observed the shooting and alleges the violence was instigated by an argument which took place among a group of men shooting dice. The vigil participants were caught in the crossfire, according to that witness.
“The really scary thing, coming on the heels of the shooting in Orlando, you wonder is it gang related or is it a crazy gunman,” Stone said, “I guess you figure sooner or later if you live in a city like that you ... realize anything can happen at any time.”
A security guard at the 14th Street gathering place, Venue, registered his surprise and disturbance. “This is very strange,” he told the Chronicle. “Downtown Oakland has changed a lot. Downtown is one of the safest places now. This was an isolated incident.”
Related: Violent Crime On The Decline In Oakland As Murder Rate Drops