One person was killed and seven others were injured in a shooting Monday evening in Oakland, California — the latest explosion of violence to ravage the state, which is home to some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.
The shooting occurred in the 5900 block of MacArthur Boulevard just after 6 p.m. local time, the Oakland Police Department said.
Officers were dispatched to the area following an activation of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology.
Upon arrival, officers found a shooting scene and shell casings, but no victims.
Shortly afterward, the Oakland Police Department received notice that several gunshot victims had gone to hospitals in the area by themselves.
Police said there were a total of eight people wounded, one of whom later died. The remaining seven were listed as stable.
It’s not clear what precipitated the gunfire. Police are asking for the public to send in tips regarding the shooting, which remains under investigation.
A tragic week for California
The Oakland shooting was the third mass shooting to hit the state since Saturday, leaving at least 19 people dead.
Less than a month into the new year there have already been 39 mass shootings in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings in the U.S. and defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot or killed.
The shootings come despite California's stringent gun policies. Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence says California has the strongest gun safety laws in the nation with assault weapons restrictions, strong background check requirements and extreme risk protection orders.
The Oakland shooting unfolded about three-and-a-half hours after at least seven people were killed and one other person was seriously injured in a shooting at two sites in Half Moon Bay in Northern California on Monday.
The Half Moon Bay shootings occurred at agricultural businesses on the outskirts of the city of roughly 11,000 about 30 miles south of San Francisco. In that shooting, a 67-year-old suspect was arrested. A motive remains unclear.
The bloodshed followed the Saturday massacre at a ballroom in Monterey Park in Southern California that killed 11 people who had gathered for Lunar New Year celebrations.
Investigators in that case believe the suspected gunman may have been targeting his ex-wife.
Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted Monday night: "At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy."
