Oakland Eastmont Hills residents seek answers from city in wake of ongoing violence
Neighbors in Oakland's Eastmont Hills refuse to let gun violence be normalized in their community.
They're angry, upset, and once again demanding city leaders for solutions after police said a shooting last week killed one man and injured two people at the corner of Ney Avenue and Ritchie Street.
They sent their list of demands to city leaders as Mayor Sheng Thao and her team of department heads held the last of a series of town hall meetings on Friday to address crime and homelessness.
"We do not need a town hall to explain to us how a city department works. We've been engaged in this conversation for the last eight years. We already know how to call 911, how to call the non-emergency number and when to call the non-emergency number and 311," said neighbor Sudip Ray. "What we need is a productive conversation, a real plan that works."
Some of the Eastmont Hills neighbors called the town hall meeting they recently attended a "dog and pony show" that did not offer a comprehensive strategy.
In the short term, they want cameras, traffic calming measures, and more police patrols at known hot spots like Ney and Ritchie. In the long term, they want more violence prevention programs and investments in job training programs for young people.
"Having the mobile command unit, a little more police presence in the area does help on the short term. But really start to exam the long-term solutions and get those implemented as soon as possible because the community has been waiting for many years on those," said neighbor Alex Minas. "We want to hold them accountable and let them know these problems are existing in places where many, many people live."
Neighbors shared a surveillance video with CBS News Bay Area of the August 22nd shooting. It happened just after 7 p.m. The camera did not capture any video, but recorded at least 25 gun shots.
Oakland police said they were investigating the motive and looking for leads in the homicide case.
"(The shooting is) directly in front of my house, that's scary. If there were any kids out here, they could've been involved, too," said neighbor Michael Pomeroy.
Pomeroy has lived near Ney and Ritchie for 14 years. He said many families are afraid to leave their homes.
"It's just been getting more worse and worse for the kids because the kids don't even want to go outside," complained Pomeroy. "I hope to see a better future if anything. I can't really see one right now."
