By HARRY HARRIS | hharris@bayareanewsgroup.com and PAUL ROGERS | progers@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

One person was killed and at least six others were wounded in a shooting Saturday evening at Lake Merritt in Oakland near the city’s Juneteenth celebration, the latest in a series of mass shootings that have struck the city this year.

Police said the shooting was reported at about 6:22 p.m. in the 2200 block of Lakeshore Avenue, where an estimated 1,000 people had gathered.

One victim, a 22-year-old San Francisco man, was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital, said Officer Johnna Watson, a spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department. The other six victims — four males ages 16 to 27, and two women — were in stable condition, she said.

There were originally five wounded victims reported, but an adult woman walked into a hospital late Saturday evening with a gunshot injury, bringing the number to six.

Investigators said they were trying to determine a motive for the shooting and identify suspects. Two men running from the scene with guns were arrested, police said, but it was unclear if they were responsible for the shooting.

“Tonight a joyous occasion at our Lake Merritt was marred by a senseless act of gun violence,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in a statement. “Police in the area tended to victims, and apprehended two people with firearms near the scene. The investigation is ongoing and will determine if they are connected to the shooting. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims, and I want to thank our officers for a quick response.”

One man who was jogging in the area said Lakeshore Avenue was jammed with vehicles, some of them parked in the middle of the street with no passengers inside, when the shooting occurred.

“I heard gunshots. It was really quick,” said Andrew Simpson, 21. “Out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy with a gun pointing at a car. Everyone started sprinting and screaming. They were yelling ‘we’re getting shot at!’ I didn’t really understand what was going on. Hundreds of people were running. People were jumping in their cars and driving off.” 

Simpson, who said he could not see many details in the chaos, began running up a side street.

“A few people offered me a ride,” he said. “They were saying ‘we’ve got to get out of here.’ It was pretty crazy.”

Witnesses said people in the dense crowd ran in opposite directions around the lake’s shoreline when the shots rang out. Some ran straight into the water. A police helicopter, which had been flying throughout the day, returned and circled the area.

Dozens of police officers rushed to the area to perform crowd control and preserve the crime scene.

A black convertible Oldsmobile and a silver Nissan Murano, surrounded by at least 35 shell casings on the street, were cordoned off with yellow police tape along Lakeshore Avenue near the intersection with Brooklyn Avenue as dusk fell.

Most of the remaining crowd along the 2200 block had dispersed by 8:30 p.m. Saturday as investigators continued working the crime scene.

“A few people offered me a ride,” he said. “They were saying ‘we’ve got to get out of here.’ It was pretty crazy.”

Witnesses said people in the dense crowd ran in opposite directions around the lake’s shoreline when the shots rang out. Some ran straight into the water. A police helicopter, which had been flying throughout the day, returned and circled the area.

Dozens of police officers rushed to the area to perform crowd control and preserve the crime scene.

A black convertible Oldsmobile and a silver Nissan Murano, surrounded by at least 35 shell casings on the street, were cordoned off with yellow police tape along Lakeshore Avenue near the intersection with Brooklyn Avenue as dusk fell.

Most of the remaining crowd along the 2200 block had dispersed by 8:30 p.m. Saturday as investigators continued working the crime scene.

The shooting occurred about one mile north of the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, where hundreds of people had gathered throughout the day to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day that the last enslaved people in Texas finally learned that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed legislation marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

It was unclear whether there was any connection between the shooting and the Juneteenth events, which were scheduled to take place from noon to 8 p.m. on the lake’s south shore. People regularly gather in the area where the shooting occurred on other days, particularly weekends.

Simpson said he passed by the amphitheater earlier in the evening, nearly a mile to the south, and saw a relaxed, friendly crowd.

“There were lots of families. People were dancing,” he said.

This is the 59th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year. Last year at this time police had investigated 32 homicides in the city.

Police said they will not be providing an update Sunday, but more information will be available at press briefing Monday.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $35,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the shooter or shooters. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.

Bay Area News Group photographer Dylan Bouscher and reporters David DeBolt and Jesse Bedayn contributed to this story.