Multiple people were wounded and two people were killed in at least three separate early morning shootings Saturday in Oakland that may have stemmed from the First Fridays street festival.

According to the Oakland Police Department, the first shooting occurred around 2:15 am on the 1900 block of Broadway, just steps away from where the First Fridays event would have been winding down. As ABC 7 reports, one victim was found suffering from a gunshot wound, and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

That victim, according to the Oakland Police Officers Association, was a bystander trying to buy food at a nearby store when a firefight broke out between multiple "armed groups."

Those groups may have remained in the area, and the shootings continued for a couple of hours.

As KRON4 reports, a second shooting victim was found following a ShotSpotter activation at around 3 am on the 1700 block of San Pablo Avenue, less than two blocks away from the first shooting. That victim was treated by paramedics and later succumbed to their wounds.

Just before 3:30 am, as KRON4 reports, another shooting victim was spotted on 19th Street and Martin Luther King Junior Way, and that victim was privately transported to the hospital.

A fourth victim was found shortly there after, also just a short distance away, on the 500 block of 18th Street. That person was transported to the hospital and they also died.

Two additional victims self-transported to the hospital, which the police learned about around 3:45 am. Those two were listed in stable condition, and were reportedly shot on the 1900 block of Martin King Luther Junior Way.

Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement saying, "It's tragic moments like this morning's gun violence that left six shot and two dead that remind us we still have so much work to do. While we've seen a 30 percent decline in overall crime, every shooting and homicide is one too many, and we must continue our comprehensive public safety efforts so everyone is safe and feels safe. I've been in touch with OPD, which has not concluded these shootings were connected to First Friday celebrations. I will stay in contact with OPD as the investigation continues."

The Oakland Police Officers Association, which has been critical of city leadership, called this "another major outburst of violence" for the city, noted that "These incidents occurred within several blocks in the aftermath of First Friday festivities."

The union's president, Huy Nguyen, said in a statement to ABC 7, "Oakland is too violent. There are not enough police to safely patrol the city or major events like First Friday. It is with great concern that the public cannot be assured of safety even at large public gatherings. Defunding and cuts to police by the Mayor and City Council have created life-threatening situations. Oakland eliminated its Nightclub Patrol that provided services to restaurants, bars, and music venues in downtown Oakland."

One woman was killed after the July 2024 First Fridays event, and she was shot in the middle of the event grounds, on the 1900 block of Telegraph Avenue. Other instances of violence connected to the event included a shooting that injured three and left one person dead in 2013. Six people were also wounded in a shooting that occurred a few blocks away about two hours after the festival ended in October 2018.

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