UPDATE 9/11/23
A third person has been arrested following a Sept. 5 shooting at Skyline High School in Oakland. A second gun was also recovered, the East Bay Times reports.
All three are juveniles and have been charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office. The two arrested shortly after the shooting are students at the school but it has not yet been confirmed if the third juvenile is a student. No one was injured.
The school was closed Wednesday but reopened Thursday with police presence.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Two students were arrested Tuesday following a shooting at an Oakland, Calif., high school.
Skyline High School was placed on lockdown after a report of shots fired near the campus’ theater area around 11:19 a.m., reports East Bay Times. Oakland Police said authorities detained four people and arrested two suspects believed to be connected to the shooting. No one was injured but a gun was recovered. California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies also responded.
Oakland Unified School District said parents were notified shortly after the incident and updated once students were confirmed to be safe. The lockdown was lifted around 2 p.m. and students were dismissed once the all-clear was given.
Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell issued a statement Tuesday night announcing the school would be closed Wednesday as police work to determine what prompted the shooting and to ensure students have time to “process” the incident. She also said mental health support will be made available for students when they return Thursday.
“All of us are relieved that no one was hurt, and I know we are united in our calls for this kind of violence, which has become all-too-common in our city, to end immediately,” said the statement. “Now is the time that I want to share my gratitude for the staff at Skyline who handled a very difficult situation quickly, effectively, and calmly. They ensured students were kept in classrooms and safe, and that everyone supported one another throughout the ordeal. Likewise, our students did a great job complying with the lockdown and being there for each other.”
Parent Malana Weems told ABC7 she wants the district, which has 20 high schools, to provide more information about what it is doing to keep students safe.
“My kids aren’t coming to school the rest of this week, and if I don’t find out what really happened, they won’t be coming back next week either,” she said. “They need to do something about this. This school is too wide open and these kids are not safe.”
Oakland schools have experienced significant violence in the past year. Also at Skyline High School, in December, a student was stabbed by another student on campus. Oakland police said the 14-year-old victim suffered multiple stab wounds and underwent surgery for serious injuries, KRON reports. The suspect was 15.
On July 31, 2022, three people, including a child, were shot during a youth football game at Oakland Tech High School. Less than a month later, a 13-year-old boy was shot by a fellow classmate at Madison Park Academy. A month later, six adults, including two students, were shot at East Oakland’s King Estates School Complex. One of the victims died several months later.
“Stop engaging in violence in all forms,” Oakland Unified Spokesperson John Sasaki said after Tuesday’s incident. “Whatever the conflict that you might have, whether it’s in the city or anywhere else, it’s not worth the consequences.”
