2 homicides in Oakland over holiday weekend
OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland police are investigating two deadly shootings from over the holiday weekend.
Two men were shot right outside a liquor store on Saturday.
One of them survived.
Another person was killed in a neighborhood just after midnight Sunday.
Just after 4 p.m. Saturday, two people were shot at International Boulevard and 71st Street, according to the Oakland Police Department.
Those who work in the area, like Quitta, whose last name was not provided, are fed up with the violence.
"For real, for real, stop the violence, man," Quitta told said.
Witnesses inside Tolins Market and Liquor during the shooting were afraid to speak on camera, but they told KTVU a car pulled up, a passenger got out and shot and killed a man smoking a cigarette outside the store.
Another man in his sixties who goes by the nickname ‘Fiji’ was shot in the leg and survived.
Officers found him on the floor inside the liquor store.
Across town, Christmas Eve started with another person being shot and killed just after midnight on Sunday in a Pill Hill neighborhood on 28th Street near Summit Street, police confirmed.
Some in the neighborhood are not surprised about another shooting.
"No. not really," Brady Leder told KTVU.
Leder is a funeral director for Grant Miller Mortuary, right around the corner from the crime scene.
KTVU caught him out for a stroll, which he avoids doing after dark.
"We’re constantly watching security," Leder said. "We’ve got cameras."
According to Leder, the Starbucks next door to the funeral home is now a drive-thru only because of crime.
"This is a great area. There’s a lot of great restaurants and things to do. A lot of local shops that have been here a long time, and it's hard to see them go because they just can’t survive here," Leder said.
So far this year, citywide Oakland police have reported 122 homicides, compared to 118 in 2022 and 132 in 2021.
That’s over 370 people killed in just three years in a city that hasn’t had a police chief since February.
"Discussion is a big thing. I think a lot of people just turned a blind eye," Leder said about crime in the city.
The Oakland Police Commission gave a list of three police chief candidates to Mayor Sheng Thao earlier this month, but it’s still unclear who’s on the list.
Quitta blames the leadership at city hall for the state of crime.
"Stop the violence for real, so we can get some money out here," Quitta said.
KTVU reached out to Thao's office for comment but did not hear back Sunday night.
Police have not yet revealed the names of the two people killed.
If you know anything about the shootings, call the Oakland Police Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the tip line at (510) 238-7950.