CHP: Man found dead in van on Oakland street corner was shot on freeway
OAKLAND, Calif. - Another shooting on an Oakland highway took an unusual twist after the victim was found dead miles away from where he was shot.
Surveillance video shows a Chevy Astro van parking at the corner of 51st Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A short while later, a man gets out of the van and calmly walks away.
The California Highway Patrol is trying to figure out who the man is because Oakland police found another man inside the van who had been shot and killed. But authorities say he wasn't shot there.
Interactive map: A look at Bay Area freeway shootings
According to the CHP, the man was attacked on westbound Interstate 580 near Seminary Avenue in East Oakland, more than two miles away from where his body was found.
Both CHP and Oakland police converged on the crime scene on city streets.
"Through their investigation they determined that what they were dealing with was likely the result of a freeway shooting on I-580," said CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.
KTVU has learned that the man found dead in the van was James Dale, a 40-year-old parolee.
KTVU also learned that Dale's son, James Dale Jr., 22, died back in May, after a black Nissan he was in was involved in a shooting and rollover crash also on I-580 near Seminary.
Dale Jr. was a convicted felon and gang associate who died as a result of the crash.
A second man, Abner Daniel Hernandez, 21, was shot and killed. Two other victims who were in the Nissan were shot and wounded.
The CHP said it was too early to say whether there could be a connection between the two incidents - involving father and son - along the same stretch of freeway.
"If that is factual, that will be part of our ongoing investigation," Barclay said. "We're still very early in this investigation, we're still gathering facts, both us and the Oakland Police Department."
No arrests have been made in either of the deadly freeway shootings.
But at least in the latest case, there's a factor being looked into,
"The information I was given is that it appears to be gang-related, and the reality here in Oakland is that gang activity has increased tremendously and that's an issue we gotta address," said Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents the area where the van was found.