Members of the Oakland City Council joined family and friends in a vigil at Lake Merritt to remember the victims of Saturday's mass shooting
The Alameda County Coroner’s Office said one of the men who was killed at the Juneteenth shooting was 22-year-old Dashawn Rhoades, a resident of Oakland and San Francisco.
“He was hers but when he had that baby, oh my goodness if you could see him with his baby,” said his aunt Jasma Turner.
Rhoades is one of eight people shot at the celebration on Saturday.
Police said there were an estimated five thousand people there -- some surrounding emergency vehicles there to help the injured.
Police also said the shooting was related to a San Francisco gang but they did not say the victims had gang ties.
“We are reclaiming our town, we are expanding the definition of what it means to be safe,” said Carroll Fife of the Oakland City Council.
Council member Fife and council president Nikki Fortunato Bas are working to reimagine public safety.
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“What could have prevented what happened at that shooting at the lake, not only the response of the police,” said Fortunato Bas, president of the city council. “It was also what should have happened years ago for those people who were involved.”
They want the police budget to move away from enforcement where it can be avoided and they are pushing to put money into housing, job corps and mental health.
Councilmember Loren Taylor is proposing a compromise.
“The compromise solution is to make sure we are not prematurely taking away the response to emergency situations while we get these other services up and running,” said Taylor.
On Thursday, the Oakland City Council could pass the city’s $3.8 billion budget that will dictate public services, which includes public safety for the next two years.
