Several People Shot At Juneteenth Celebration In Oakland, California

Joy ChukwuJune 20, 20241 Mins read553

A Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California, turned violent when several people were shot, the Associated Press reported.

The Lake Merritt event on Wednesday night was mostly peaceful, with an estimated 5,000 attendees, until a sideshow involving motorbikes and vehicles began around 8:15 p.m. on the north side of the lake, police reported in a news release on Thursday.

A fight broke out down the street from the sideshow, attracting a crowd to the area, police said.

“During that fight, multiple shots rang out,” stated Paul Chambers, OPD’s strategic communications manager.

The shooting occurred at 8:45 p.m. While the exact number of injured was initially unclear, several people were struck by gunfire and taken to a hospital. There were no reports of fatalities.

As officers worked to ensure the crowd’s safety, several people attacked OPD officers, Chambers said. At least one person was arrested for assaulting an officer, though the number of officers attacked was not specified.

A large police presence was observed, including up to two dozen police vehicles and multiple ambulances, as reported by KTVU-TV. Police confirmed that 28 officers and four sergeants were at the scene to monitor the event.

Participants in the celebration were seen engaging verbally with police, with some criticising the police response time when people were injured, KTVU reported.

BREAKING: Multiple people shot at Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California 💔 pic.twitter.com/FQH8R3ZWRm

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) June 20, 2024

Juneteenth

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States and has been sacred to many Black communities.

It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and following the end of the American Civil War.

Since becoming a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has gained wider recognition beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

In 2021, a shooting during a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt resulted in several injuries and the death of a 22-year-old San Francisco man.