Two members of the Oakland Islamic Center died and another was hurt in a drive-by shooting Monday night just minutes after their evening prayer.
Hatin Nasser said 59-year-old Bilal and 27-year-old Isam were killed and a 19-year-old was shot in the leg during the shooting.
"Why do these individuals have to be killed in this ugly, grewsome fashion?" Nasser said. "It is very shocking. It's just very terrifying to know two were killed, but it's even more terrifying not to know why they were killed."
Witnesses said the men were walking to get food when they were shot. As of Tuesday evening, investigators were still looking for multiple gunmen and a motive for the shooting.
"It's random, it's useless," said Fouad Ahmed, a friend of one of the victims. "I was just telling the cashier here, they have nothing to do. Two people died because of this."
Less than an hour after the shooting, a woman was shot and killed near East 20th and 23rd streets. Another shooting just before midnight on International Boulevard left a 17-year-old girl in critical condition.
The violence forced Oakland police to triage calls.
"We're going to be challenged with responding to calls," Oakland police Deputy Chief James Beere said. "If we don’t have the appropriate numbers to reflect the population, we're going to continue to struggle."
Nina Carter, whose team of violence interrupters responded to several of the shootings, believes there needs to be more investment in prevention.
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"Oakland has lost control of the community," she said. "A lot of it has to do with the activity that goes on that's not supervised."
As police look for suspects, community members are praying the violence stops.
"It's very amazing how easy it is taking a human life and how people take other people's lives for granted," Nasser said. "So, I think the community has to step up and do something about this."
