UPDATE: Police Confirm Two Dead, One Injured In East Oakland Triple Shooting
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Two people are dead and a third person is injured after a triple shooting in East Oakland Wednesday afternoon, according to police.
Oakland police said the shooting happened on the 1900 block of 84th Ave. at 12:47 p.m.
Police later confirmed that two of people who were shot had died.
Oakland Police Deputy Chief Leronne Armstrong announced during a news conference that upon arrival, officers found three shooting victims. One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other two victims were transported to area hospitals. Armstrong said police were later advised that one of those two victims succumbed to their injuries after arriving at the hospital.
"But these aren't just numbers," Armstrong said. "These are people. These are people from our community that have lost their lives to senseless violence."
According to Armstrong, the shooting followed a confrontation between individuals. The men who were shot were 18, 19, and 23 years old.
Police have not released any information on the condition of the injured shooting victim who survived or possible suspects. The two deaths marked the 77th and 78th homicides in Oakland this year.
Authorities in Oakland have reported a major increase in street violence and shootings in early October. On Tuesday, the department tweeted that there were 166 ShotSpotter activations just between October 5-11. ShotSpotter activations have increased 53 percent over last year, police said.
The recent outbreak of deadly violence in Oakland claimed its 75th victim during the first weekend of October, matching the total number of homicides in all of 2019 with nearly three months to go this year.
"This spike that we've seen in violence is something that's unprecedented for this city," Armstrong said.
In a residential neighborhood three blocks away, 60 bullets were fired Tuesday, and Armstrong said this community has experienced trauma that isn't going to go away after police and reporters leave the area.
Armstrong said police will continue to use the Ceasefire strategy, a partnership between police and the community, that has reduced the number
of homicides in the city.
"It's been effective for seven years," Armstrong said.
Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan has been critical of City Hall during the surge in street violence.
"A dramatic increase in violent crime has been met with deafening silence from City Hall," Donelan said earlier this month. "Many of Oakland's elected officials are ignoring the tidal wave of bloodshed, murder, and violence that their citizens and the police officers are experiencing daily."
According the Oakland Police Officers' Association, crime statistics show a 45% increase year-over-year in shootings and murders in Oakland. There were 15 murders in September alone.
