Oakland police chief promises extra officers on patrol after more gun violence Friday
Grants designed to ease unrelenting gun violence in Oakland
The gun violence in Oakland has received much attention this week after six adults were injured in a campus shooting on Wednesday. KTVU's Jana Katsuyama says community members want the city to pull together to find solutions to the problems. US Dept. of Justice recently announced gun reduction violence grants, but Oakland was not on the list for funding.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong says he is adding extra officers to patrol the city, following a week of gun violence capped by three additional shootings Friday that sent at least five people to the hospital.
"This weekend you will see more OPD officers patrolling our streets. Chief Armstrong has deployed all available resources throughout the city in a coordinated effort to enforce crimes associated with gun violence in Oakland," said a statement on the Oakland Police Department's Twitter account.
Police said a shooting about 8:30 p.m. Friday on the 900 block of International Boulevard left two people with gunshot wounds. A third person was injured by glass, according to investigators.
Around 6:30 p.m., another shooting was posted to the Citizen app. Video shows police at BART's West Oakland Station where police say one person was injured.
Earlier Friday just after 2:15 p.m. in Oakland's Laurel neighborhood, officers found one person with a gunshot wound near the intersection of 39th Avenue and Masterson Street. Police say a second person who was also shot, later showed up at a local hospital.
The steady stream of shootings in the past few weeks has alarmed many longtime Oakland residents, who are calling for quick action by the city before the violence escalates even more.
Wednesday's mass shooting at the King Estates education campus in East Oakland, led to a cancelation of classes at all four schools on that site.
On Friday, staff at the Bay Tech Charter School were at the site cleaning up and locating students' backpacks and gear that had been hastily abandoned during the school shooting evacuation.
The Bay Tech Charter School shares the grounds with Rudsdale Continuation High School, Rudsdale Newcomer High School, and the virtual learning Sojourner Truth School.
The charter school staff say they met with the Oakland Unified School District Friday and are urging parents to monitor emails for messages and support.
"We are getting ready to make plans on how do we bring kids back, and we have to do it methodically," said Seth Feldman, Executive Director of Bay Tech Charter School.
Some say there needs to be more unity and urgency in addressing the community feeling of fear and issues of safety as Oakland wrestles with this string of gun violence.
"All the kids on this campus are everyone's kids. We don't have charter school kids. We don't have district children. We have children. We have students. That's what the adults can do. They could come together and all sit at the same table," said Feldman.
SEE ALSO: Victims injured in 2 separate shooting incidents in Oakland early Friday evening
"I want our students to also be a part of that, because they were impacted, so I want them to show up at city council meetings. I want them to write their elected officials. i want them to have their voices heard," said Lori Smith, the Bay Tech High School principal.
The U.S. Department of Justice Thursday announced $100million in gun violence reduction grants.
Alameda and Contra Costa Counties were listed receiving about $1.5 million each, but Oakland was not on the list.
City Council member Treva Reid who represents District 7 adjacent to the school shooting scene says the city should be going after every possible grant to get more resources.
Last month, Oakland just received a $6 million state grant to reduce gun violence.
"A lot more funding we need and $6 million is great, but we need to double our own violence prevention, healing and trauma care within the city of Oakland," said Reid.
Loren Taylor, the City Council member for District 6 understands the trauma firsthand.
"I have family who works at this school," said Taylor. His son also saw the scene and had asked Taylor if the principal of the middle school would be okay.
"He saw the police lights and sirens. I came home and he told me what he saw," said Taylor.
Taylor says there needs to be a massive citywide effort to improve communication.
"The school district, the city, county, probation department, police department, are talking more," said Taylor, "Not letting anything fall through the gaps as we try to create this safety net around our community."