Oakland closed 2020 with highest homicide rate in 8 years

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Faith leaders in Oakland paid tribute to those who lost their lives to violence in the city in 2020.

They gathered for an emotional ceremony at Saint Columba Catholic Church on San Pablo Avenue on New Year's Eve. 

The clergymen displayed 102 crosses to represent the number of people killed in Oakland during the past 12 months. 

Bishop Michael Barber of the Diocese of Oakland said, "When each of these people die, their family members, parents, spouses, and children remember them and we remember them today and lift them up to the love of mercy in the arms of almighty God."

Oakland's homicide total for 2020 was the highest it's been in eight years. 

City leaders and police have vowed to stop the disturbing rise in deadly violence in the new year.