Oakland gun crackdown nets 5 firearms, 7 arrests in 24 hours
OAKLAND – Police in Oakland announced Thursday that multiple arrests have been made and guns have been seized within a 24 hour span, as part of a new strategy to stem rising violence in the city.
Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers attempted to pull over a vehicle seen running a stop sign in the area of Avenal and Bancroft Avenues in East Oakland. Police said the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed before it was located a short distance away on the 5600 block of Harmon Avenue.
The two people inside the vehicle were arrested on multiple weapons charges. Police said a search yielded two firearms with extended magazines, with one containing a device allowing the gun to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.
Less than two hours later, officers with the department's Ceasefire Division made three arrests and recovered a firearm in the area of 89th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. Police said arrests were made for illegal possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle and an outstanding warrant.
The following day, Ceasefire Divison officers located a person wanted on outstanding warrants. While attempting to pull over the suspect, police said the suspect began ramming their patrol vehicle.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody and a firearm was recovered from their waistband, according to officers. An assault rifle with a 40 round magazine was found during a search of the search of the person's home.
Also on Wednesday, officers arrested a person on the 4700 block of International Boulevard in connection with a gun-related case.
Identities of the suspects arrested have not been released.
Police said Thursday that the arrests come in the wake of Chief LeRonne Armstrong's plan deploying additional officers in response to recent violence, including a significant rise in homicides. As of Tuesday, 101 homicides have taken place this year in Oakland.
Since the plan was implemented in late September, police have made nearly two dozen arrests of people suspected of violent crime and 30 firearms have been recovered.
