6 injured in Oakland, California school shooting

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Oakland assistant police chief, Darren Allison, confirmed that a shooting has taken place at Rudsdale Newcomer grade school, leading to six injuries with Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf tweeting that all of the injured were adults.

Allison said: “The victims were affiliated with the school and we are determining the affiliation at this time,” but he declined to state if any students or teachers were involved. Per a statement released by Oakland fire department spokesperson Michael Hunt, paramedics admitted three of the wounded to the Highland hospital in critical condition and the condition of the three others is unknown.

Rudsdale Newcomer grade school describes itself on its webpage as an institution that hosts students who have recently immigrated to the US after fleeing their home countries “because of violence and instability”, and are thus at risk of not graduating. 

Oakland has seen a rise in its gun violence statistics for the past two years since the start of the pandemic, as prior to it, homicide rates were at record-breaking lows but by the end of 2020, 102 people were killed, up 24 more from the previous year. According to The Guardian analysis of state homicide data, 14 people under the age of 20 were reported killed in 2020. This year, up to now 96 people have been murdered, mostly with guns.

“A lot of us have plans that we can’t even make happen because we die at 18 and 19. It’s just a big war zone that we’re facing and I don’t know how it’s gonna be stopped,” expressed Cianna Williams, a 19-year-old friend of 18-year-old Demetrius Fleming-Davis, an Oakland native who was shot and killed last year while sitting in the back of a truck. 

Initiatives to address Oakland's constant gun violence was announced by the city's chief of police, LeRonne Armstrong on Tuesday, with the intention to increase police presence in gun-violence-ridden areas and where police believe individuals are frequently involved in shootings.

The US, notorious for breeding gun violence, has witnessed another year of school shootings and public mass shootings with one of its most shocking being the Uvalde school massacre in Texas that left two adults and 19 children dead. 

According to the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety last month, "between August 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022, there were 193 incidents of gunfire at preschools and K-12 schools - nearly four times the average during these months in all other years. These incidents left 59 people shot and killed and 138 people shot and wounded" just this last academic year. 

The incident before Texas saw Buffalo's Top Supermarket in New York 10 killed in May, all victims were African American. July 4th, Independence day in the US, was a day that observed a chain of shootings in multiple states such as Illinois and Colorado. US President Joe Biden has been tweeting about the need to ban assault weapons, the main weapon used in mass shootings, but no affirmative or legislative action has been taken - allowing the matter to persist and subtly be encouraged.