The family of one of the victims in last week's mass shooting event at Lake Merritt is telling a disturbing story that could amount to a hate crime, and this victim was not even a participant in the unsanctioned Juneteenth party that was going on.
Tracy Ma, the sister of shooting victim Mason Ma, spoke to KTVU on Thursday, saying that her brother has lost a finger and may lose partial use of one of his legs as a result of last Wednesday's shooting. Mason Ma was one of 14 people shot and injured in a melee, and it remains unclear how many shooters were involved.
"He's suffering from a lot of anxiety," Ma tells the station. "He's in a lot of pain. He'd wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for painkillers."
Ma says that her brother was walking with a friend on his way to dinner at a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant (likely Jong Ga House), when he noticed the party happening by the lake.
In a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it seems that Mason Ma was walking by the large gathering just as the violence broke out, which was reportedly around 8:45 pm, following a sideshow in the adjacent intersection of Grand and Bellevue avenues.
But, Tracy Ma says, her brother was not struck by a stray bullet. He was allegedly targeted and shot multiple times by the same shooter, a male suspect between the ages of 16 and 20.
"He calmly walked up, and he fired his first shot at [Mason's] right hand. He lost his finger," Tracy Ma tells KTVU. Her brother apparently dove under a parked SUV while his friend managed to run away.
"The shooter came up close to the car, and fired two more shots," Ma says.
Mason Ma was struck by bullets two more times in his left leg, and he was reportedly bleeding heavily on the street when someone else came up and stole his cellphone.
He was then taken to the hospital.
Tracy Ma has posted a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs of Mason's medical care and rehabilitation. It has so far raised $5,600 of a $50,000 goal.
"Mason was in a critical state when he was transported from the crime scene to the hospital," Tracy Ma writes. "He received multiple surgeries, including several bypass surgeries due to immense blood loss and the amputation of his right index finger. One bullet that still remains in his left upper thigh will be removed after initial recovery, but his left leg is unlikely to operate at full capacity again."
The Oakland Police Department has said that they have arrested two people in connection with the shooting, and it's not clear if either of these individuals was the one who shot Mason Ma.
What may have mostly been a shootout between rivals amid this Juneteenth party also included this one seemingly deliberate shooting of a bystander. Given the wave of crimes committed against Asian Americans in Oakland in the last several years, the possibility that the shooting of Ma was a hate crime remains.
Tracy Ma has words for the shooter, which she delivered on KTVU: "I'm not sure why you did this. I know you will get caught. Karma will catch up with you eventually."
Previously: 14 People Shot at Unsanctioned Juneteenth Event at Oakland's Lake Merritt