Oakland Mayor Downplays Crime as Murder Toll Rises

OAKLAND — Hours after the city posted its seventh killing in a 24-hour period, Mayor Elihu Harris unveiled the first of 66 new “Welcome to Oakland” signs Wednesday.

The irony was not lost on the mayor.

“The Oakland Police Department is overwhelmed and surely the homicide department is overwhelmed,” said Harris.

Tuesday’s shootings, which included five execution-style murders and a drive-by killing, brought the city’s murder toll this year to 53--far ahead of last year’s pace, which ended in a record 165 murders. The city’s population is about 375,000.

Police discovered the bullet-pierced body of the seventh victim early Wednesday on a road near Oakland’s airport. The other six bodies were found Tuesday.

In showing off the new signs, Harris said Oakland does not deserve its crime-and-drugs image.

“Murder’s a reality for any urban community. We are not unique,” he said. “When you go to downtown Oakland, if you don’t feel safer there than in downtown San Francisco you’re an idiot.”