16-year-old girl shot dead, 3 others injured during vigil for two drowning victims
16-year-old girl shot dead, 3 others injured during vigil for two drowning victims
A 16-year-old girl was shot to death and another three people were wounded at a vigil for two boys who drowned last month in Oakland, California.
Reggina Jefferies, 16, died at Highland Hospital a short time after the shooting on Tuesday near Venue in the downtown area of the city, according to KNTV,
Jefferies, who had been reportedly shot in the neck, was one of the 3,000 people attending a vigil for 15-year-old best friends Josiah Pratt Rose and Jamari Wilson.
Witnesses said that there was some sort of altercation minutes before two men shot into the crowd in the area of 13th and Franklin streets in front of Golden Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant around 6pm before fleeing.
‘I heard several shots, probably six in a row,’ Joyce Mitch told the television station. ‘Then I saw a bunch of kids running.’
The number of people shot fluctuated throughout Tuesday evening. Oakland police initially said five people had been shot and then corrected the number to say four were shot.
Authorities say the shooting happened after many of the vigil attendees spilled out into the street.
The other three shooting victims range in age from mid-teens to early 20s and are currently listed in stable condition.
Mason Stone told the newspaper people were running ‘every which way.’
‘The really scary thing, coming on the heels of the shooting in Orlando, you wonder is it gang related or is it a crazy gunman,’ he said.
‘I guess you figure sooner or later if you live in a city like that you … realize anything can happen at any time.’
Oscar Edwards, a security guard at Venue, said that he was shocked at the timing and location of the shooting.
‘This is very strange,’ Edwards said. ‘Downtown Oakland has changed a lot.
‘Downtown is one of the safest places now. This was an isolated incident.’
It’s unclear if any arrests have been made and police have not released the names of the other victims who were wounded in the shooting.
The two teen boys died over Memorial Day weekend when they jumped from a boat without life jackets on into a Stanislaus County reservoir.
Jefferies had reportedly just finished performed a memorial dance for the boys at their funeral before heading to the vigil.
Several people have taken to Facebook to mourn Jefferies’ tragic death.
One person wrote: ‘My sincere condolences to The family of Reggina Jefferies family on there lost today at my nephew repast.
‘We have got to stop the gun violence and senseless act. We have lost another angel today. She was the Praise dancer at my family services today. May God put his loving arms around her family.’
Donnie Briggs, a relative of one of the drowning victims, took to Facebook to express outrage over the young girl’s tragic death.
‘You want to talk about STUPID and SENSELESS? Ok let’s do it: Today Kim and I were in Oakland to attend the memorial service for my little cousin Josiah Pratt-Rose #Jojoworld and his best friend Jamari Wilson#Mariworld who tragically passed away two weeks ago,’ the post reads.
‘After the service we attended the repass in Downtown Oakland.
‘Tragically during that repass service where people should have been reflecting on the memory of their friends and loved ones, some IDIOTS started fighting over a dice game, someone pulled out a gun, shots were fired.
‘Reportedly 6 people were wounded, including a young teenage girl named Reggina, the very same girl who served as a praise dancer at the memorial we were at earlier. Sadly she did not survive her injuries.
‘When will we wake up and realize that we must do a better job at raising our children. Fighting, smoking weed, drinking, disrespecting adults, disregarding God.
‘Doing whatever seems right in our own eyes. Who are we? Where are we? Are we the children of Israel who grew up in the time after Joshua died. Are we Barbarians? This is ridiculous! #RIPRegginaJefferies’
