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Oakland's Yemeni community calls on the city to prevent violence
Following a shooting that left two young men hospitalized, members of Oakland's Yemeni community are calling on the city to do more to prevent violence. The two men were caught in a hail of gunfire — investigation showed approximately 120 shots were fired. City leaders have promised to do more.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Members of Oakland’s Yemeni community on Friday called for city leaders to curb violent crime after an incident last week in which two young men were caught in a hail of gunfire and hospitalized.
One of the victims was shot eight times, the other seven. Both survived.
Muaamar Al Mualm said his 21-year-old son had come home from work last Friday, parked at the corner of 8th and Filbert Streets, and was talking with a friend when the gunfire began.
"People drove by in an SUV and then they were shooting at them," Muaamar Al Mualm, the father of one of the victims said. "They said when they count the bullets, it’s 120 bullets. My son had seven bullets in his body, the other kid eight bullets. We need the city of Oakland to do something. I’ve been here 20 years, I see crimes all the time."
Al Mualm said his son’s car had bullet holes in the doors, bumpers and windshield.
Local perspective:
Members of a nearby mosque gathered to call on the city to do more to prevent violent crimes like this.
"We are here calling for a number of things, more resources, more police presence, a sense of safety up here in our community," one of the speakers said to the gathered crowd.
City leaders were present as well, and pledged to do more.
"We must do better. We will continue to invest in solutions to violence and I offer my hope and love to everyone who has been affected by this terrible tragedy," Council member Zack Unger said.
What they're saying:
Oakland Police Captain Steve Toribio said statistics show crime is declining in the area, but added that statistics don’t measure people’s sense of safety, or the department’s need for more partnerships with businesses across the city, to help fight crime.
"Year-to-date, shootings in area one are down 30%, robberies are down 6% and, specifically, gun-related robberies are down over 40%," Toribio said. "We have 35 beats across the city, three shifts in which there’s an officer working each of those shifts, and we only have one street enforcement team per bureau. In East and West Oakland we have one street enforcement team. We have no community resource officers anymore."
Community members called on the city to look into having more working cameras. Police are still investigating the shooting.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered by Jana Katsuyama, who interviewed members of the community, and attended a community rally at which city leaders and police officials spoke.