Shooting on Highway 580 in Oakland is just the latest on Bay Area's most dangerous roadway
The latest shooting on a Bay Area freeway occurred on what authorities say is one of the most dangerous in the Bay Area.
An 8-year-old boy caught in the crossfire of a freeway rolling gun battle on Interstate Highway 580 Friday evening remained at Oakland Children's Hospital Sunday. A California Highway Patrol spokesman said they couldn't give an update on his condition because of his age and privacy laws. Investigators said the boy was in grave condition when first responders rushed him to the hospital.
CHP data shows that from 2020 through April 2023 there have been 35 fatal highway shootings in the Bay Area, with 10 taking place on Interstate 580 in Alameda County.
"I said 'oh my God.' I had just literally driven (on eastbound) 580 and it gave me an eerie feeling," said independent filmmaker Doug Harris.
He said he drove on the stretch of I-580 an hour before the shooting.
The latest freeway shooting ripped open an old wound. His best friend Gene Ransom was shot and killed on I-880 in downtown Oakland in February 2022. Ransom was a basketball star at UC Berkeley and was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame.
"Just out playing ball, and I think about my brother Gene. I miss him so dearly," said Harris.
Investigators arrested a suspect in Ransom's killing last year and said the shooting was over road rage.
CHP detectives are still looking for the gunmen involved in Friday's shooting. They said people in a dark gray SUV and a maroon SUV were exchanging gunfire on Eastbound I-580 near Harrison Street when a stray bullet struck the 8-year-old victim riding in another car.
"A lot of these shootings are injuring and killing innocent people, and it's getting out of hand," said Harris.
According to an analysis by The San Francisco Standard and numbers provided by the CHP, officers responded to 435 shootings on Bay Area freeways from January 2020 to April of this year.
Alameda County was the worst and saw 204 shootings in that span, 11 people died, including two kids: Jasper Wu and Eliyanah Crisostomo.
"We have to look to our legislators to make more punitive laws to punish these people that get out on these freeways and shooting," said Harris.
The governor's office said the Caltrans workers will install freeway cameras along I-580 and I-880. It was supposed to happen sometime this year.
"Freeway cameras, it's a step in the right direction. But once again, there needs to be stiffer penalties in our legislation, new laws set up to deter this type of activity," said Harris.