Oakland police plan to increase patrols across the city following a deadly weekend that saw seven shootings and three major illegal sideshows.
City council members are also demanding more be done to end the violence in Oakland.
"It's really disturbing," Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo said. "It's a challenge."
The violent weekend started Friday night with three separate shootings, killing three people just hours apart in East Oakland.
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On Saturday morning, another shooting occurred on International Boulevard and sent a person to the hospital.
By Sunday night, the total of weekend shootings hit seven incidents, leaving five people dead, including a woman whose body was found in her car on the Interstate 580 offramp at Edwards Avenue.
Police said they do not believe any of the crimes are connected.
"We don't have any linkages in terms of the types of crimes that we are seeing," said Drennon Lindsey, a deputy chief for OPD's bureau of investigations. "We have various disputes, so nothing that we can say is for the community to fear."
The Oakland Police Department has made three arrests in two separate cases. The police union said the spike in violent crime and overwhelmed officers meant that some lower-priority calls for service went unanswered for up to 12 hours.
"What really happened is the volume of calls and the number of homicides overwhelmed those who were on duty and more officers had to be brought in Saturday night and Sunday night to try to deal with the backlog," Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan said.
Illegal sideshows were also a major concern over the weekend. Dozens of cars gathered at three separate sideshows, including one involving a big rig near the port.
Noel is pushing for the city council to pass an ordinance that would increase penalties for promoters and sideshow participants.
"It's just crazy and the reality is its illegal," Gallo said. "You are destroying our streets. You're making them unsafe for our children and family and that cannot be accepted."
Gallo said it will take a joint effort from multiple law enforcement partners to really make a difference.
"When it comes to safety we do need cooperation from other agencies in the area from the sheriff department, to the highway patrol, to the FBI and increasing the number officers," Gallo said.
Councilmember Treva Reid provided the following statement Monday on the string of weekend violence:
"It is beyond troubling and absolutely heartbreaking to learn that 4 people lost their lives over the course of 72 hours as a result of gun and community violence. Families are grieving with great trauma and our community is terrorized by the violence. We must be relentless in our efforts to stop the violence and work with our interagency partners to hold those accountable for committing these heinous crimes in our city.
I will continue to advocate for deeper investment into community programs, conflict resolution, mental health and grief counseling care, and other services that will help to curtail these incidences of violence in conjunction as I support OPD’s public safety efforts to get firearms off of our streets."
