Four People Have Been Killed Five Others Injured In A Series Of Violence In Oakland

The streak of violence was marked Tuesday afternoon by a shooting that left one person dead and another injured near Oakland City Hall. Overall, the bloodshed left Oakland police reeling and led to renewed calls for an end to the gun violence that has led to homicides across the city in recent years. On Tuesday afternoon, Auckland City Council President Nicky Fortunato Bass denounced the violence as “incredibly tragic and unacceptable”. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting on 14th Street near Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, Tuesday, September 20, 2022. One person was killed and another injured while at a city council meeting near City Hall . (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) For people mourning the dead — including Oakland’s Muslim and Ethiopian communities — the shootings were simply inexplicable. The first, a shooting on Telegraph Avenue, left two members of those communities dead and a third hospitalized with gunshot wounds. “Everyone was devastated, everyone was shocked that someone would do this kind of massacre in our community and just hit someone so loved,” said Abdullah Elbgal, 26, who goes to the mosque. The violence began around 7:45 p.m. on Monday in a hail of gunfire along Telegraph Avenue when at least two gunmen opened fire from a car as it drove past a market and restaurant in the 3100 block of Telegraph Avenue. The shootings occurred shortly after prayers at the Oakland Islamic Center, when attendees typically either stay for a communal dinner to break their daily fast or head across the street to a Middle Eastern market and restaurant. The bursts of gunfire lasted about 10 seconds while “shaking the entire mosque” across the street, Elbgal said. “They were hunting them with a vengeance,” Elbgall said. “We were all terrified. This shook the whole mosque. It was echoing through the hallways, like Rambo or something.” OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: Oakland Police are investigating a triple shooting in the 3100 block of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, Monday, September 19, 2022. Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and were located inside different businesses. The third victim is in stable condition at the hospital. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) Elbgall said he soon realized the shots were fired at a restaurant across the street. When he ran, he found a man lying in a pool of blood inside a restaurant. Then he found one of the council members of the mosque nearby. Both men bled to death there. “It turned gray — the best way I can describe it is like a cup without water,” Elbgal said. Elbgall said security footage at the mosque showed a white car matching the one involved in the shooting circling the adjacent block several times immediately before the shots rang out. On Tuesday afternoon, Oakland Police Deputy Chief James Beer said officers were still working to determine a motive for the shooting, saying “at this time, we are not sure of a motive and we are investigating all the leads.” . The family of Belal Esa, 59, confirmed to this news organization that he died in the shooting. He came to the U.S. from Ethiopia in the late 1980s and lived within a mile of the mosque, where he raised his family. Authorities have not released the names of the two people killed in the shooting. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: An Oakland Police Crime Scene Technician takes pictures as he investigates a triple shooting in the 3100 block of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, Monday, September 19, 2022. Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and within various businesses. The third victim is in stable condition at the hospital. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) Although Essa’s family asked for privacy while mourning his death, other members of the mosque remembered a man who was insanely generous and constantly trying to help others. He often brought fruit to the mosque to give to others. And he regularly sent money he helped raise during Ramadan fundraisers back to Ethiopia. “It’s a great loss — he was a huge figure” for the local Muslim and Ethiopian communities, said Abdu Esa, a relative of the slain man. “What will you gain from this?” “He was a family man — he was very, very kind,” said Fouad Ahmed, 65, a friend. He denounced the violence and suggested that measures be taken to address the proliferation of weapons throughout society. “It’s very sad. This is a social issue, a social problem.” The shooting in the Pill Hill neighborhood started a bloody 11-hour stretch that saw police respond to six shootings across Oakland. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: Oakland police are investigating a homicide near ENG Market on 23rd Avenue near 20th Street in Oakland, California on Monday, September 19, 2022. A woman was pronounced dead at the scene. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) Forty-five minutes later, at about 8:30 p.m., a 48-year-old woman was fatally shot a few miles east in the 2200 block of East 20th Street. It appears he was shot while on or near the road, Oakland police said. Her name has not been released and additional details were not immediately available. The killings mark the 88th, 89th, 90th and 91st homicides of the year that Oakland police have investigated. The California Highway Patrol has also investigated four homicides on city highways. By last year, OPD had investigated 100 homicides. While investigating a double homicide on Telegraph Avenue, two Oakland police officers were injured when a suspected drunken driver crashed into a police cruiser – injuring one officer inside and another standing nearby. Both officers were transported to the hospital, while the suspected drunk driver was arrested. What followed was a series of shootings along a 1.2-mile stretch of International Boulevard in East Oakland. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: A memorial is displayed for a woman as Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting near the ENG Market on 23rd Avenue near 20th Street in Oakland, California on Monday, September 19, 2022. A woman was pronounced dead at point. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) At approximately 11:43 p.m., a 17-year-old girl was shot in the 2600 block of International Boulevard. Police said he was shot multiple times by a woman after some sort of confrontation. Some other people were nearby but were not injured by the gunfire. At least one parked vehicle was riddled with bullets, authorities said. An hour and a half later, a 39-year-old man was shot in the arm in the 1200 block of International Boulevard. He told police he was walking when he heard gunshots and saw he had been shot and ran to a nearby liquor store for help. Before police got there, the man called another person who took him to a hospital, where he was in stable condition. And about an hour before sunrise on Tuesday, a 21-year-old woman was shot in the lower body at 5:59 a.m. while outside in the 1000 block of International Boulevard. Elbgall said seeing the first shooting Monday afternoon scared him. The gun violence that hit Oakland wasn’t something he had thought much about before this week. Now, that’s all he thinks about. “It ‘s crazy. It’s getting out of hand,” Elbgall said. “Something has to be done. I guess it will lead us as a society, as a city on a smaller level, to come together and say enough.” Jason Green contributed to this report. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting on 14th Street near Broadway in downtown Oakland, California, on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. One person was killed and another injured while at a city council meeting near the Town hall. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Team) I’ve lost count of how many shootings and homicides I’ve covered in the last 24 hours. #oakland #shootings #homicide @EastBayTimes @OakTribNews pic.twitter.com/6YEcf1O9W6 — German (@German) September 21, 2022