A 33-year-old robbery victim died Wednesday night after being shot on a cul-de-sac near Lake Merritt that has been the scene of two other homicides since November, police said.
Authorities did not identify the man Thursday, and police said they do not know where he lived. But at a press conference, Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said the shooting apparently happened after an attempted robbery.
Officers were called to the 1200 block of Lakeshore Avenue about 8:53 p.m. and found the man down with more than one gunshot wound, police said. An ambulance rushed him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m., police said.
Investigators were working to determine a motive and have not yet made any arrests, according to police.
The killing is the 31st homicide investigated by Oakland police this year. At this time last year, Oakland police had investigated 39 homicides.
The California Highway Patrol also has investigated two homicides this year on freeways within the Oakland city limits.
The cul-de-sac includes the 1200, 1300 and 1400 blocks of Lakeshore Avenue, at the south end of the street and of Lake Merritt. The shooting marked the third homicide there in less than a year; there have also been seven non-fatal shootings on the cul-de-sac since May 2021.
The most recent killing before Wednesday happened on Christmas Eve, when a 38-year-old man was shot to death in the 1400 block of Lakeshore Avenue.
Before that, a 22-year-old woman was shot Nov. 11 on the cul-de-sac during an attempted robbery. She died two days later.
Armstrong said investigators were seeking video or other evidence “that might help us identify those responsible for this heinous crime,” noting that the fatal shootings in the area had yielded suspect arrests. “But it still is troubling that we respond again to this area to violence,” he added.
Armstrong said police planed to rotate officers through the cul-de-sac, parking and walking on foot, as well as positioning vehicles at the cul-de-sac’s opening near Foothill Boulevard. In response to questions about short staffing, responses to noise calls and possible lifting of residential parking restrictions that might box out would-be partiers, Armstrong said he was open to working with city agencies, staff and officials to craft responses.
“Obviously we’re challenged with resources, as we are now at a low of 652 officers,” Armstrong said. “We’ll continue to prioritize the locations where we assign resources. This is one area that has been a priority, and will continue to be a priority moving forward.”
In an advisory statement after the press conference, police said that despite logging 15 percent fewer robberies to date this year than last year, officers were receiving an increased number of reports of armed thefts in some communities, particularly at gunpoint in residential neighborhoods and involving suspects who approach would-be victims entering or leaving vehicles or homes. Residents with information about similar violent crimes may call the department at 510-238-3326.
On Thursday evening, resident Howard Schainker shared some of his concerns around persistent crime like Wednesday night’s shooting, as well as what he described as cyclical efforts to curb it.
“The enforcement is not anywhere where it needs to be. After the guy was shot last night? There were 20 cops. But we don’t want them to respond after the fact,” said Schainker, 79, who has lived in the cul-de-sac’s 1200 Lakeshore building for nearly a decade and a half.
His frustration has led him not only to regular calls to city agencies, but to outreach to neighbors to brain-storm more useful solutions. He did note fewer problems when Lakeshore lanes were coned off and police were positioning officers nearby in response to public-space issues around the lake.
“The problem was it was only until 5 or 6 p.m. And then everyone would gather, and the noise and everything else would start up again,” he said. “We thought [police] were going to do it every day, but then it was weekends, and then only Sundays and now nothing.”
Schainker said his brother-in-law once returned out to his car, which had been parked outside during a dinner visit: “His rear wheels were up on blocks, because they stole his tires. He won’t come over anymore. We get together with them over at their place. They live in San Francisco.”
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information that leads to an arrest of the shooter. Police can be contacted at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 510-777-8572.