Mass shooting during Juneteenth celebrations in California’s Oakland

2024-06-20 06:59:59

Multiple people were shot during Juneteenth celebrations in California’s Oakland on Wednesday night (local Oakland time).

The incident happened at Lake Merritt after violence erupted amid the celebrations, media reports said.

Confirming the incident, the Oakland Police Department said the fatalities in the incident were not yet known.

Meanwhile, officials advised locals to avoid the area.

A purported video of the incident showed massive chaos on the street where the mass shooting happened.

Juneteenth, a day that marks the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, is observed on June 19 each year.

It became a US federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by President Joe Biden.

Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and 19th, is also known as Emancipation Day. It commemorates the day in 1865 – after the Confederate states surrendered to end the Civil War – when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform a group of enslaved African Americans of their freedom under President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

Published By:

Vani Mehrotra

Published On:

Jun 20, 2024

Mass shooting during Juneteenth celebrations in California's Oakland

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