Because it occurred in such close succession with two mass shootings in California, a shooting incident in Oakland Monday night in which one person died and four others were injured by gunfire is being talked about in the media as a third mass shooting, but the evidence points to something different, like shootout involving multiple guns.

More details have emerged about an incident Monday night at a Valero gas station in East Oakland, near Mills College, in which bullets flew in multiple directions, apparently from multiple shooters. The chaos erupted amid a music-video shoot, and as KPIX reports, 40 to 50 individuals had gathered around the gas station for the filming.

The incident took place just after 6 p.m. Monday at the Valero station on the 5900 block of MacArthur Boulevard.

18-year-old Mario Navarro died in the shootout, and acting Oakland Police Chief Darren Allison said at a press conference Tuesday that four other individuals were struck by gunfire.

Three others were injured in a crash as they were trying to flee in vehicles, and another vehicle was shot up with bullets. As of Tuesday, only one of the injured remained in the hospital.

Initial reports had suggested there were eight shooting victims.

Investigators were collecting evidence from two vehicles that were believed to have transported victims to the hospital, as KTVU reports.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 63. No arrests have been made.

"We are looking into the possibility of a gang or group connection with this incident," Allison said, per the LA Times. Allison spoke about the problem of retaliatory shootings between groups plaguing the city for years.

"We have a good sense of involved parties, as far as groups and gangs," Allison said. "We’re not prepared to release that at this time."

Allison described the shooting as "targeted," and said that investigators had found "all sorts of casings" at the scene, including shells from semi-automatic handguns and rifles.

Going by the definition of "mass shooting" as an event in which at least four people were injured or killed, new Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao referred to this at a news conference as the "third mass shooting" in California in recent days. But much like last April's shooting in downtown Sacramento, the details point to multiple shooters and interpersonal/gang conflict, and not a comparable, lone-shooter-type incident as what occurred in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. Nonetheless, it is another tragic incident of gun violence and another manifestation of too many guns being on the street.

"Now we see that more families are feeling this pain, the pain due to yet again more gun violence in our city," Mayor Thao said. "And we are not unique in this. We have seen other shootings across the state as well, too."

Oakland city spokesperson Kim Amrstead called the incident "disheartening," and said "we're relying on community support to help solve this incident."  

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