At least six people were injured in a shooting at a school campus in Oakland, on Wednesday, authorities in the northern California city said.
The shooting occurred at Rudsdale Newcomer high school, said Darren Allison, the Oakland assistant police chief. The school serves students who are at risk of not graduating and have recently immigrated to the US after fleeing their home countries “because of violence and instability”, according to the school’s website. It is one of four adjacent schools that serve middle and high school students on Fontaine Street in east Oakland.
The Oakland Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred in the 8200 block of Fontaine Street.
We are asking our Community Members to please avoid the area at this time.
PIO is on the way to scene. Media we will update with staging area. pic.twitter.com/9zvmmW7lC3
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) September 28, 2022
All six victims had gunshot wounds and were transported to local hospitals, the Oakland Police Department said at a press conference. They were all adults believed to be affiliated with the school, Oakland Police Department Assistant Chief Darren Allison said, though officials did not say if any were students aged 18 or older.
Allison said the shooting happened at about 12:45 p.m. at the Rudsdale Newcomer High School portion of the King Estates campus, which houses four schools that also include Sojourner Truth Independent Study and BayTech Charter School. Investigators are working to determine how the shooting progressed, Allison said, noting that some victims were located inside the building.
“Today’s gun violence at Sojourner Truth school shocks the soul — our schools are sanctuaries for our children,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a tweet. “The unbridled access to firearms in our country is inexcusable.”
Two victims had life-threatening injuries and one person had been released from the hospital as of Wednesday afternoon, Allison said at a press conference. Two others were pending release from the hospital and the last victim had non-life-threatening injuries.
Allison said officials were looking for at least one shooter, though he said more suspects could be involved. Nobody was in custody yet on Wednesday. The school was cleared, and the situation is not active, officials said.
