A shooting or shootout with multiple gunmen likely involved took place in the early hours of Sunday morning near the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland during an illegal sideshow.
The sideshow was happening at Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard in the Dimond District when shots rang out around 3:43 am, according to multiple sources. (KRON4 reported the incident as having occurred at Fruitvale Avenue and International Boulevard.)
Five people were injured in the shootout, and all five victims were said to be in stable condition as of Sunday, as KPIX reports.
The Oakland Police Department says it found around 90 shell casings at the scene.
No arrests have been reported, and police are still trying to determine what sparked the violence.
Three of the five victims are being treated at Highland Hospital, police say, and the other two self-transported to Alameda Hospital and Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, respectively. As Bay Area News Group reports, two of the victims were young women, aged 24 and 26, from Hayward and San Bernardino, respectively. And two of the victims were young men from the Bay Area, aged 21 and 22, from Oakland and San Pablo, respectively. The age and gender of the fifth victim has not been reported.
"Unfortunately, the Oakland police force is understaffed, so more police patrols, I think, would help," said Oakland resident Tammy Brice, who lives near where the sideshow occurred, speaking to KTVU. "There’s always been sideshows when I was in high school and such, and now it’s just more prevalent. They’re happening more often, they’re happening in the daytime, as well as at night, and people are losing their lives."
A similarly violent shootout with multiple victims took place amid a sideshow and Juneteenth celebration by Oakland's Lake Merritt in June. 14 people were shot and wounded in that event.
The OPD reiterated its policy on sideshows Sunday in a tweet, saying, "If you participate in illegal sideshows, your vehicle could be towed and seized with a 30-day hold."
Police are seeking information about the sideshow and shooting, and anyone with information is asked to call 510-238-3426.
