Multiple Shooting Investigations Continue in East Bay
OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) - Police are searching for a suspect after a man was fatally shot in downtown Oakland late Sunday, a police dispatcher said.
At about 11:30 p.m., police responded to a call of a man down near the intersection of 19th and Webster streets, Oakland police Officer J. Moore said.
Officers found an unresponsibe male victim suffering from gunshot wounds. Attempts to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 11:47 p.m., Moore said.
Police do not yet have a suspect in custody or a suspect description, he said.
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Also in the East Bay, All lanes of Interstate Highway 580 were reopened Sunday night after being closed for hours following an early-morning shootout with CHP officers, according to a California Highway Patrol officer.
CHP officers attempted to stop the driver shortly after midnight Sunday morning after observing a white Toyota truck allegedly speeding and weaving through traffic on westbound Interstate Highway 580 near the Grand Avenue exit.
After conducting a routine traffic stop, the driver did not respond when CHP officers tried directing him off the freeway with their loudspeaker, Oakland police said. CHP officers then approached the vehicle and allegedly saw firearms inside and the driver arming himself. He was allegedly armed with a handgun, shotgun, rifle and body armor.
The suspect, described as a 45-year-old man, allegedly fired at officers as they moved back to their marked vehicles, and CHP officers returned fire, Oakland police said.
Two CHP officers were transported to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries after the exchange.
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The suspect was shot an unknown number of times and was listed in stable condition Sunday afternoon, Oakland police said. He is under arrest for attempted murder.
"This person blatantly and randomly shot at our officers without provocation," said CHP spokesman, officer Sam Morgan.
The CHP officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, Morgan said.
"This was a very aggressive person," Morgan said. "He shot at officers on a freeway that was opened to the public. Clearly his intentions were less than honorable."
Oakland Homicide is conducting a criminal investigation, and the CHP is conducting an administrative investigation into the incident.
After the shootout, CHP officers and Oakland Homicide investigators found a suspicious package along with a binder while searching the truck, which was sitting in the westbound lanes of I-580 west of Harrison Street, Morgan said.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office Explosive Ordinance Disposal Squad was called to assist after the suspicious items were found inside the truck, Morgan said.
A member of the bomb squad who was wearing a protective suit to search the truck could not confirm that the package was non-destructive, Morgan said. A robot was then used to retrieve the package, which was detonated in the westbound lanes of I-580 near Harrison Street.
Investigators also found a white binder with the word "California" on the front in the truck, Morgan said. Investigators do not know the full significance of the binder.
"It's like a piece of the puzzle," Morgan said.
The bomb squad remained on the scene for several hours but had left the area by 4:30 p.m., Morgan said.
The shootout forced the closing of I-580 in both directions and Interstate Highway 980 and some surrounding exits for several hours. Eastbound lanes of I-580 were reopened as of around 6 p.m., and two westbound lanes were reopened at around 7 p.m. All lanes were open by just before 9:40 p.m.
Meanwhile, Oakland police have identified a man fatally shot by police Saturday morning after reportedly charging at an officer with two knives as 48-year-old Fred Collins, a police spokesman said Sunday.
Officers received a 911 call at about 8:10 a.m. that Collins, an Oakland resident, was armed with knives in the 3200 block of East 12th Street, Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said.
Oakland police responded to the area and notified BART police as a courtesy due to Collins' proximity to the Fruitvale BART station, Thomason said.
Two BART police officers who happened to be in the area spotted Collins, who matched the description of the suspect, and tried to stop him.
Collins, however, ran away from the officers to 34th Avenue, where an Oakland police officer who had arrived in the area tried unsuccessfully to subdue him with a Taser gun, Thomason said.
Collins then ran north on 34th Avenue and turned west on East 16th Street, and then south on 33rd Avenue, where another Oakland police officer used a Taser gun on Collins, which also turned out to be ineffective, according to Thomason.
Officers said Collins was holding a knife in each hand and charged at the officers, who opened fire on him. Three Oakland and two BART police officers shot Collins, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Thomason said.
No officers were injured in the incident, he said.
Oakland homicide detectives, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the internal affairs units of the Oakland and BART police departments are conducting administrative investigations into the shooting, Thomason said.
