Two young women were reportedly killed and possibly seven others were wounded when a party bus traveling on eastbound I-580 was shot up last night, during one woman's 21st birthday celebration.
In what appears to have been a targeted attack, a party bus carrying a group of birthday celebrants was riddled with bullets on multiple sides around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, while traveling on 580 between the MacArthur Boulevard and Seminary Avenue exits, near Mills College. The bus driver exited the freeway and went to seek safety in the parking lot of the Oakland Police Eastmont substation, at the former Eastmont Mall, as KPIX reports.
Police gave an early morning press conference in the parking lot, with the bus now covered in tarps — but KPIX snapped photos of the rear and side of the bus dotted with dozens of gunshots, including 24 on the rear along. The gunman was reportedly in another vehicle on the freeway, and CHP closed down the eastbound lanes of 580 until around 3 a.m. to investigate. KPIX reports that officers were also in an area at 67th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, investigating.
The East Bay Times reports that the gunman followed the bus off the freeway and continued shooting while on some city streets around that area. Authorities have said that the shooting appears "not random."
One of the women killed was a 19-year-old from Stockton who was a mother of a three-year-old, according to several reports. The 21-year-old who was celebrating her birthday was reportedly hit in the leg and is in stable condition.
East Bay Times reporter Dylan Bouscher reported on four ambulances arriving at the police station to take victims to Highland Hospital. Early reports stated that one person was killed, but ABC7 and others have since confirmed that there were two fatalities.
In the video below, oddly, a firework can be seen going off in the background near the police station.
A 19-year-old woman from Stockton was killed in the East #Oakland party bus shooting, according to the victim’s godmother. pic.twitter.com/YaxrVh0PTM
— Dylan Bouscher (@DylanBouscher) May 18, 2021
CHP confirms 1 person killed. Two different shooting scenes. So far in the investigation it does not appear to be random. No one confirming how many people injured. pic.twitter.com/0XI44zahka
— Sara Stinson (@SaraStinsonNews) May 18, 2021
This shooting follows another party bus shooting that took place on an SF-bound vehicle in East Oakland last month. As the East Bay Times reported, one 25-year-old woman was injured in that shooting out of 30 people onboard the bus.
No arrests have been made so far in last night's shooting, and CHP is asking anyone with information in the case to call 707-917-4491. The CHP is handling the investigation with the help of the Oakland Police Department.
Update: The two fatalities have been identified as 16-year-old Zoey Hughes and 19-year-old Alayasia Thurston, both of Stockton.
Photo: Dallas Party Ride
