A woman in San Leandro and a man in Oakland were each wounded by stray bullets early on New Year’s Day amidst a series of “celebratory” gunshots across both cities, police said Monday.
Between 10 p.m. on Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday, San Leandro police received six calls for service reporting celebratory gunfire. In one of the cases, a woman was hit by a descending bullet while in the garden area of her apartment complex in the 1200 block of Pacific Avenue.
Police said she was struck in her lower body by the stray bullet and was treated by emergency personnel for a minor injury.
In Oakland, a 20-year-old man was hit by what police believe may have been illegally fired gunshots shortly after midnight Monday. The man had been at a house party on the 1000 block of 91st Avenue, stepped outside and felt some pain in his arm. Police said the man thought he had been hit by a rock but went inside and saw he had suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition
“Most bullets from celebratory gunfire land harmlessly or lodge in roofs or other property, but, in areas with high population densities, there is a likelihood that bullets may strike human beings,” the San Leandro Police Department said in a news release. These bullets often hit people in the head, shoulders or feet.
Police also warned that shooting a gun into the air is illegal and could be considered a felony.
For the Oakland incident, police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of whoever fired the gun. Anyone with information can call Oakland police at 510-238-3426 or Crime Stoppers of Oakland at 510-777-8572.