Violent event at Juneteenth festival in Oakland: Shooting leaves 15 injured

Fifteen people were shot when an illegal “sideshow” disrupted a peaceful Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California, police said Thursday. Investigators are searching for multiple shooters after Wednesday night’s violence at Lake Merritt – more than 50 shell casings were recovered at the scene – but no arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon.

Violence breaks out at Juneteenth celebrations in Oakland

About 20 vehicles – mostly ATVs and dirt bikes – arrived around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, starting a sideshow on the north side of the lake as 5,000 people attended the Juneteenth event.

Sideshows, also known as street takeovers, involve stunts such as donuts, drifting and burnouts. Street takeovers often involve hundreds of spectators. Cars block access to an intersection, holding up traffic in all directions and making it difficult for police to intervene. It has become a widespread problem across the country, including in Oakland and other cities across the U.S.

15 injured in shooting

Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell said Thursday that a person ran over the hood of a carnival car. Several passengers got out and attacked the person, who was hospitalized for his injuries.

Some of the people in the crowd also attacked police officers, Mitchell said during a news conference. One woman was arrested for attacking a police officer while he was providing first aid to a gunshot victim. Investigators are scouring social media for clues to the identity of the shooters, Mitchell said.

At least one gunshot victim was in critical condition. The victims were between 20 and 30 years old. Other injuries included the loss of fingers and minor gunshot wounds.

“The opportunity to celebrate with your family and friends should never be marred by gunfire,” Mitchell said.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed – after the end of the Civil War and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth was declared a national holiday in 2021 and is now widely known beyond the borders of black America. Many people have the day off from work or school and there are a variety of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

In 2021, a shooting during a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt injured several people and killed a 22-year-old San Francisco man.