A 2-year-old boy who was playing on the sidewalk was shot in East Oakland Friday, police said.
The little boy was playing in front of his home in the 9200 block of Sunnyside Street, police said shortly before 2 p.m.
Police say the boy was caught between two groups of people shooting at each other.
The shooting actually happened two blocks away.
There was gunfire exchanged in the 9400 block of Sunnyside Street but traveled all the way to the boy's home where he was playing in the front yard, Oakland police spokesman Sgt. Arturo Bautista said
The child was hit by a stray bullet in the upper body and is hospitalized in critical condition, according to police.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said to harm a child is "beyond unacceptable." Adding "Our investigators, officers and command staff will pull out all the stops to catch the shooters who have shown such callous, reckless disregard for the lives of their neighbors and the lives of children."
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No other information about the shooting was immediately available other than police were setting up a staging area at 94th and Sunnyside, which normally means it is an active crime scene.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan statement:
Let us all pray for this child and for his loved ones. Criminal violence is always unacceptable, but to harm a child like this is beyond unacceptable. Our investigators, officers and command staff will pull out all the stops to catch the shooters who have shown such callous, reckless disregard for the lives of their neighbors and the lives of children.
As we collectively demonstrated in multiple arrests for the killing of Alaysha Carradine, we get results when we all work together. As cooperation from the community has increased in recent months, our shootings and murders have been on the decline. But to lose even a single life to violence is too much, and I ask that anyone in the community who can help us learn about the people responsible for this heinous crime step up to us again catch the shooters of children. These criminals must be taken off our streets.
Police did have any suspect descriptions.
There was gunfire exchanged in the 9400 block of Sunnyside Street and a wayward bullet struck the boy nearly two blocks away. He was playing in front of his family's home when he was hit, Bautista said.
No other injuries were reported and no suspects are in custody in connection with the shooting, Bautista said.
Police said there were four ways to submit an anonymous tip:
- Text TIP OAKLANDPD to 888777 from your cell phone
- Call the toll-free tipping hotline at 855-TIPS-247 (855-847-7247)
- Respond to OPD's Nixle messages
- Go online to http://nixle.us/tip/oakland-police-department-ca/
