Gun violence
Horace Mann Elementary School in East Oakland was locked down by school officials this afternoon while the Oakland Police Department conducted a series of arrests at a nearby home.
East Oakland neighbors packed the intersection of 64th Avenue and International Boulevard Tuesday evening to mourn the three-year-old boy who was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting on Monday.
The City of Oakland can impose a preliminary gang injunction in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, a judge ruled Friday afternoon in downtown Oakland.
The Oakland City Council burned the midnight oil late last night and into Wednesday morning as they passed a measure that will continue to fund gang injunctions as a crime-fighting tool. By a 4-3 vote, the city council voted for the measure, which has cost the city about $1 million to date in court costs and police overtime.
A hearing about whether to impose a preliminary gang injunction against 40 alleged Norteño gang members in the Fruitvale neighborhood began nearly three months ago. On Friday afternoon, after weeks of exhibiting evidence and bringing forth witnesses, lawyers from both sides presented their final arguments to Judge Robert Freedman.
During a two-day conference last week, Youth ALIVE! hosted the third annual National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs National Conference at Oakland’s Preservation Park. Over 120 representatives from non-profits across the country met to discuss strategies on how to stop the “revolving door” of young gunshot victims who are treated at urban emergency rooms, only to return later.
Testimony about the proposed Fruitvale gang injunction hearing concluded on Monday after two months of witness appearances by alleged Norteño gang members, gang experts, and police officers. Probation Officer Dalen H. Randa, who testified on Monday, was the last witness to be called to the stand.
Jesus Campos, a prominent business owner and community leader, was shot and killed outside of his Fruitvale restaurant at 5:36 a.m. Friday morning. Police believe that Campos, 58, unwittingly disrupted a robbery attempt at Otaez Restaurant on International Boulevard and was shot by the robbery suspects.
With homicide numbers already deep in the double digits this year, Oakland has a reputation for being one of California’s most violent and crime-plagued cities. But that won’t stop students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland from working hard to change that.