Party bus shot up on Oakland freeway, leaving 2 dead

A celebratory affair turned deadly shortly after midnight on Tuesday when a gunman open fired on a party bus traveling through Oakland, killing two people on board and injuring several others, authorities said.

The party bus was carrying several people on Interstate 580 near the Seminary Avenue offramp when a shooter took aim at the vehicle, California Highway Patrol officials said. After the initial gunfire, which was reported at 12:19 a.m., the bus drove off the freeway and again was shot at near Foothill Boulevard and 68th Avenue, authorities said.

Images of the Starcraft shuttle bus showed it riddled with more than a dozen bullet holes and shattered windows. The vehicle was towed away for evidence.

“It does not appear that the shooting was random,” CHP Officer Edgar Vega said. “It does appear that they had a target in mind.”

Local media reported the bus was carrying passengers celebrating a woman’s 21st birthday.

After being fired on, the driver of the bus, who has not been identified, pulled into the Eastmont substation of the Oakland Police Department, CHP officials said.

Several people inside the bus were transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland, including one passenger who was declared dead at the hospital.

CHP and the Oakland Police Department are investigating the shooting. No arrests have been made, Vega said.