OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Police were searching for suspects Wednesday after gunfire erupted in downtown Oakland near a vigil for two drowning victims, leaving a 17-year-old girl dead and sending mourners and pedestrians running for cover.
Three other people ranging from their mid-teens to early 20s were treated at a hospital and released after the shooting Tuesday evening, police said. Regginna Jefferies, 17, whom police initially said was 16, died at a hospital.
White-clad mourners had gathered to remember two teenage boys who drowned over Memorial Day weekend at a reservoir in Stanislaus County, media outlets reported.
Witnesses told investigators that “several suspects” opened fire toward the group, police said in a statement. It was not known if the shooting was connected to the memorial, and police did not release suspect descriptions.
Samantha Youngman said she heard the gunshots from her 13th-floor office and wondered if they could be firecrackers. She raced to the window, “looked out and saw people running.” Five or six people were racing down and across the street, stopping traffic. They were dressed all in white, so she didn’t think it was gang-related.