A shooting at a Northern California educational campus that injured six people was most likely gang-related, authorities said Thursday.
More than 30 shots were fired Wednesday at the campus on Oakland’s Fontaine Street, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said during a Zoom news conference on Thursday.
“That is wholly unacceptable,” he said. “We do believe that this incident is group and gang-related. We believe that this is related to ongoing conflicts in our city that has driven violence throughout our city.”
He said investigators believe there were two shooters and one accomplice, but there may have been more.
OAKLAND POLICE SAY SCHOOL SHOOTING NOT ‘DELIBERATE,’ STUDENT VICTIM NOT INTENDED TARGET
The shooting injured two students, a counselor, security guard and two other employees. As of Thursday, three victims have been released from hospitals. One was in stable condition and two others were listed in critical condition.
The King Estates campus comprises a cluster of schools — Rudsdale Continuation School, Newcomer high schools, BayTech Charter School, and the headquarters of Sojourner Truth Independent Study, Fox San Francisco reported.
The shooters breached an entry point of the school and began firing, the news outlet reported, citing video of the gunfire.
“And so we’re not sure at this point how they entered… if the door was unlocked, or it was already open,” Armstrong said. “Those are the things that I will confirm within our investigation.”
Armstrong stressed that responding officers used breaching tools to enter every classroom and did not wait to receive keys that were needed to get in.
Classes at the campus were canceled Thursday.
“At least for the time being, they will remain closed because of the fact that we have to repair a lot of damage,” Oakland Unified School District spokesman John Sasaki said, the station reported.
