Six Injured In US Oakland School Shooting, Three Victims Are Critical

JAKARTA - At least six people were injured in a shooting at a school in Oakland Wednesday, authorities in the northern California city said.

The shooting took place at Rudsdale Newcomer High School, said Darren Allison, assistant police chief for Oakland. It is one of four adjacent schools serving middle and high school students on Fontaine Street in eastern Oakland.

"The victims were affiliated with the school and we are determining the affiliation at this time," Allison said, although she declined to say whether any students or teachers were involved.

Paramedics took six patients to hospital, all with gunshot wounds, according to Oakland fire department spokesman Michael Hunt. Three of the injured are being treated in critical condition at Highland hospital.

The condition of the other three is unknown, officials said. They were taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, reports The National News from the AP.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tweeted that all those injured were adults.

John Sasaki, a spokesman for the Oakland Unified school district, said in a statement that district officials "have no information whatsoever beyond what the Oakland police reported".

Wednesday's shooting came as Oakland has been grappling with more than two years of escalating gun violence, an increase in violence that began at the start of the pandemic.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, murder and gun violence in Oakland, along with a number of Bay Area cities, had reached historic lows.

But by mid-2020 gun violence was on the rise and shelters such as schools, community centers and violence prevention workers were largely unavailable. By the end of 2020, 102 people had died, 24 more than the previous year.

So far this year, at least 96 people have been killed, most with guns.