Four people were shot and killed in Oakland in a 24-hour string of violence plaguing the city.
The latest killing took place almost at the steps of City Hall, interrupting a city council meeting Tuesday.
“This is the fourth homicide investigators are investigating in less than 24 hours,” said Kim Armstead of the Oakland Police Department.
The night before, a drive-by shooting left two members of the Oakland Islamic Center dead and a woman gunned down near east 20th and 23rd streets.
“We are now at 91 homicides for this year in the city of Oakland compared to 100 lives lost the same time last year,” said Armstead.
Oakland residents are now looking to city leaders for answers.
“We have to have more boots on the ground,” said Loren Taylor of the Oakland City Council.
Oakland is in desperate need to hire people to join a force made up of 681 officers. That’s almost half of what the city needs.
"We can’t hold back, we can't normalize what’s going on," said Taylor.
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The city is banking on Oakland's Violence Prevention Program, made up of citizens who try to stop shootings before they happen.
“There's a lot of mediation, there's a lot of groundwork that’s happening to prevent the next homicide that’s not publicized because it’s overshadowed by the incidents,” said Kentrell Killens of the Violence Prevention Program.
Pastor Scott is bringing together Oakland's clergy to deal with the crisis.
“We’re not coming together. We’re pointing the finger at everything and everybody. We need a complete wrap around, Oakland,” said Scott.
Many say it has to happen quickly to stop the blood shed.
