OAKLAND — A 42-year-old mother of two was killed Friday night when she was struck by a stray bullet while inside her Laurel District home, authorities said.
Her name has not yet been released. The shooting happened around 9:40 p.m., near the intersection of 39th Avenue and Masterson Street. The woman lived about a block away at 38th Avenue and Masterson Street.
Authorities said that the woman was apparently lying on a couch when a dispute erupted down the block and multiple gunshots were fired. At least one stray bullet entered home.
Her husband and two children, who were also nearby in their home Friday, were were not injured.
The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m.
Police said they were told that the woman’s husband grew up at the home.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the dispute outside; a witness told this news organization they saw about 20 young men congregate along Masterson Street shortly before shots were fired at the group.
No other victims were found or showed up to area hospitals, authorities said, but multiple parked cars were hit. No arrests have been made, but numerous shell casings were recovered.
A non-injury shooting in the same spot happened a day earlier on Thursday evening, police said.
One resident of the neighborhood on Saturday said neighbors there have been concerned about safety issues on that block for a long time, but complaints to City Hall have gone nowhere.
“We were all messaging this morning to find each other and figure out which one of us wasn’t alive anymore,” said the neighbor, who did not want to be named because they feared for their safety and out of respect to the family impacted by the shooting. “We are left wondering, how many times does this have to happen before leadership steps up? Will (another shooting) have to be one of the neighborhood kids? Because that’s how it feels.”
Friday night’s killing was the 89th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $15,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the shooter. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950, or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.