Children injured and killed in Bay Area freeway shootings
OAKLAND, Calif. - Bay Area freeway shootings have increased over the last couple of years, resulting in multiple kids getting injured or killed as they ride in cars.
While the number of freeway shootings dipped in LA and across California since 2021, the number has gone up in the Bay Area, according to an analysis of California Highway Patrol data.
On Friday, an 8-year-old boy was struck in crossfire during a shootout on I-580, leaving him in grave condition, CHP said. The suspected shooters got away and another Bay Area family was left rushing their child to a hospital with a gunshot wound.
2-year-old Jasper Wu and 5-year-old Eliyana were struck and killed in separate Bay Area freeway shootings.
Here's a look at some of the kids injured or killed in Bay Area freeway shootings since 2021:
- On July 14, 2023, an 8-year-old boy was shot in crossfire on I-580 near Oakland's Grand Avenue. He was taken to the hospital in grave condition.
- On April 7, 2023, 5-year-old Eliyanah was killed on I-880 in Fremont as her family was going out to a birthday dinner in Milpitas. Three alleged gang members were arrested in connection with her death.
- On Aug. 30, 2022, the CHP said a 9-year-old boy was injured when shots were fired on I-580 off Fruitvale Avenue. The car he was in was later found with bullet holes on Brookdale Avenue in Oakland.
- On May 9, 2022, a 7-year-old was wounded in Vacaville during a shooting on Interstate 80, west of Alamo Drive. Video sent to KTVU shows a Honda Accord riddled with bullets holes towards the back of the vehicle, including the left rear passenger side.
- On April 9, 2022, Leisa Baker was shot while driving eastbound on Highway 4 in Pittsburg off Railroad Road when someone pulled a gun in the car next to her and opened fire. She said a bullet barely missed her minivan with her 13-year-old daughter and niece inside thanks to her evasive driving. But she still can't shake the thoughts of what could have happened.
- In November 2021, someone fired shots into a Lexus driving from San Francisco to Fremont on Interstate 880 at Filbert Street in Oakland. Inside, was Jasper Wu, 23 months old. He was sleeping in the car and died from stray bullets. His mother and two other children were not hurt.
- In May 2021, someone fired 70 bullets at a party bus filled with teenage girls and young women.
Data obtained by KTVU shows there were 146 Bay Area freeway shootings in 2021. The following year there were 154.
SEE ALSO: Interactive map: A look at Bay Area freeway shootings
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price recently opted to remove a special circumstances charge from the case involving two men accused of killing toddler Jasper Wu, which means the accused will no longer face the possibility of life without parole or the death sentence.
Price spoke to KTVU Sunday about her decision.
"For the folks who have lost loved ones in this community, both the family of Jasper Wu as well as the family of anyone who has lost a loved one, we take that very seriously, and I’m very compassionate for the victims," Price said. "The amount of grief and pain that one experiences when you lose a loved one is not anything that I would wish on anybody."
Price added that she has to follow the law, and that the legislature has been "very clear around the use of enhancements in special circumstances and how a district attorney’s office is expected to apply those."