Three dead, including a bicyclist, after shootings and crash in Oakland

Three men, including a bicyclist, were killed Friday night in west Oakland in multiple shootings and a crash that authorities said were related.

The shooting happened just after 7:15 p.m. in the 2800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Police officers were sent to the scene after an alert from ShotSpotter, which uses acoustic sensors to detect gunshots, the Oakland Police Department said in a statement.

There, officers found two men with multiple gunshot wounds as well as a bicyclist hit by a car. All three were pronounced dead on the scene, the department said.

Oakland Police Chief Leronne Armstrong at the scene told reporters Friday night that there were two shootings. After the second shooting, one of those shot tried to flee from the scene but then appeared to have crashed his car into the bicyclist, Armstrong said.

East Bay Times reported that the two shootings were related. As a man was shot, his friends or acquaintances started shooting at the assailant, the newspaper reported.

Oakland has struggled with gun violence, with 2021 being the city’s deadliest year for homicides since 2006. Mayor Libby Schaaf recently held a series of town halls on gun violence, and the city earlier this month announced a $6-million state grant for its gun violence prevention programs.

The department said it’s investigating the circumstances of the shooting and the crash. The victims’ identities are being withheld as it notifies their family members, the department said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department’s homicide section at (510) 238-3821 or its tip line at (510) 238-7950.