Toddler killed in crossfire of Oakland freeway gun battle

A 23-month-old child was killed by a stray bullet on an Oakland freeway over the weekend, authorities said.

The toddler was riding in a vehicle heading south on Interstate 880 when shots rang out around 2:10 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“We’re getting reports of shots fired,” a CHP dispatcher can be heard saying in an audio recording. “There’s a child that’s bleeding from the head.”

The family identified the child as Jasper Wu of Fremont to CBS San Francisco and said his mother was driving at the time of the shooting. He was one month shy of his second birthday.

The child’s family could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

CHP officials confirmed the Wus’ white Lexus sedan appeared to have been caught in the crossfire of an unrelated gun battle — noting in a statement that evidence collected on the northbound side of the freeway indicates “the victims were not targeted.”

Jasper was taken to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where he later died.

In a statement provided to The Times, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the city is assisting the CHP with the investigation and urged anyone with information to come forward.

“To lose a 23-month-old to gun violence is as heart-wrenching and as sickening as it gets,” Schaaf said. “As a mother and as a mayor, I’m devastated by the totality of human loss and trauma caused by gun violence in our society.”

Jasper is the second child to be killed by a bullet on a California freeway this year. In May, 6-year-old Aiden Leos was shot in a road rage attack on the 55 Freeway in Orange. The suspects, Marcus Anthony Eriz and Wynne Lee, were arrested less than two weeks later.

The Fremont Police Department said in a tweet Sunday that it was saddened by the “death of one of our youngest community members.”

“This act of violence is not acceptable,” the department said.

Video uploaded to the Citizen app shows the white Lexus and multiple police cars on the freeway Saturday afternoon. The northbound lanes of I-880 were temporarily closed after the shooting.

CHP Officer Edgar Vega said Monday that no suspects have been identified in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP investigation tip line at (707) 917-4491.