A 27-year-old Oakland man was critically injured in a shooting on eastbound Interstate 80 in Emeryville early Monday morning, the latest in a string of shootings along Bay Area highways since last year, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP officers responded at 2:26 a.m. to reports of several shots being fired into a vehicle on eastbound Interstate 80 at the Powell Street off-ramp.
Officers found the victim in a silver Nissan Altima with a single gunshot wound to his head. He was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he remains in critical condition, CHP officials said Monday.
No arrests have been made in the shooting, the 36th on East Bay highways since November. Investigators believe the majority of the shootings are gang-related and that the victims have been specifically targeted, the CHP said.
Hercules Mayor Dan Romero said he's been requesting that the state install surveillance cameras on the Interstate 80 and other East Bay freeways, and he said the state is not moving fast enough.
"Five cities are requesting high resolution cameras, shot spotters and license readers," he said. "I keep on asking when are we going to have that."
Romero along with four other mayors wrote a letter to the governor asking for emergency funding to get Caltrans to install working cameras on Bay Area freeways.
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He just found out that Contra Costa County’s district attorney is also asking for high-resolution cameras to be placed from Richmond into East County. The letter states that it will cost $1.5 million to install the camneras.
"I don’t know if it’s about guns, but we need to prove to our society that we can protect them," Romero said.
Some drivers are wondering if it's safe to use the freeways.
"I really don't have any concern about it because I'm not a in gang obviously," said Askander Horroni, of Emeryville. "But I guess there's always risks for stray bullets and things like that."
"I know it's dangerous," said Josephine Dornners, of Oakland. "It's awful. It really is."
Officers have interviewed several witnesses and recovered evidence in the latest shooting. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the CHP at 510-622-4609 or 800-TELL-CHP.
