Witnesses are speaking out and describing the scene after Saturday's shooting near Oakland’s Lake Merritt left one person dead and six others hurt.
The aftermath of Saturday’s deadly shooting was posted online after shots were fired at Lake Merritt.
NBC Bay Area’s Christie Smith spoke with a man, who didn’t want to appear on camera but was there and is grateful he wasn’t hurt.
“I was just sitting there watching the geese go by on Lake Merritt and then, ‘bam, pop, pop, pop, pop.' This guy rode up on a motorcycle and it was just crazy," the witness said.
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Oakland resident Derek Godfrey told NBC Bay Area that he took cover and others got out of the way of the crowd that was running.
“I didn’t want to be trampled. So, I ducked behind a portapotty over there,” he said.
Oakland police said that their officers were already in the area because of complaints of illegal traffic, fire hydrants blocked and double parking.
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Then, a chaotic scene as someone opened fire. A 22-year-old man was shot and killed. Six other people were shot and are in stable condition.
Vallejo resident Keith Ali was in the area at the time of the shooting.
“Streets were blocked off,” he said. “There were a lot of cops. Everybody was exiting this way. A bunch of cars leaving in and out of it," he said.
Christopher Whitmore, who lives near Lake Merritt shot cell phone video of the aftermath from his balcony, which showed a large police response.
“I heard it around 6:00 to 6:20 p.m. The gunshots from the shooting that happened here yesterday,” he said.
Whitmore like a few other residents said that the City of Oakland needs to figure out how to curb the lawlessness and violence without over doing it.
Some neighbors wonder if the Oakland Police Department is stretched too thin after incidents like the recent shooting near Lake Merritt.
About two hours after the shooting, a sideshow popped up just a few yards from the crime scene and Whitmore told NBC Bay Area that officers didn't even try to break it up.
“To my surprise, the officers were just going through the sideshow,” he said.
There were about 5,000 people and vendors who often work along Lakeshore Avenue at the time of the shooting.
“This time, investigators do not believe its directly connected to Juneteenth. It’s just unfortunate the shooting occurred on that day. We are also looking to see if this is connected to any gangs, groups or specific targets,” said Johnna Watson with the Oakland Police Department.
Its answers Oakland police don’t have yet. Police arrested two men who were running and recovered two guns. But they are still trying to determine if they were connected to the shooting.
A $40,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect(s) in the case.
Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor called the shooting "a tragic and terrible loss of life."
“People were out there having a great time and it was unfortunate a situation, where we have a shooting any injury a homicide a death is completely unacceptable. And it brings a negative taint on the positive energy and the vibrancy we had there at the lake,” he said.
Police have not released the identity of the victim who was killed. They are still piecing together what triggered the gunfire.
Saturday’s deadly shooting is now the sixth mass shooting in Oakland this year.
The Oakland Police Department added patrols around Lake Merritt for public safety on Sunday and they plan to release more information on their shooting investigation on Monday.
Anyone with information or has video or photos from Saturday's shooting is asked to contact Oakland police's homicide division at (510) 238-3821.
