Read the latest: What we know, and don’t know, about the shooting at Rudsdale High School
Oakland Unified School District staff and students were injured in a shooting Wednesday on the King Estates campus in the Oakland Hills, home to two high schools, an independent study academy, and a charter school with middle and high school students.
Police are investigating the shooting that injured six people who were all transported to local hospitals. The shooting occurred around 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday in the 8200 block of Fontaine Street at Crest Avenue.
“This was a frightening incident in which someone started shooting on our campus,” said Sondra Aguilera, OUSD’s interim superintendent during Wednesday evening’s school board meeting. “Several people were hit by gunfire, including staff and students and they were rushed to local hospitals where they are being treated for their injuries.”
OUSD will be re-examining security measures across campuses to determine how to better secure the campus, Aguilera added. School will be canceled for Rudsdale students on Thursday.
“This incident does not define OUSD and it does not define Oakland. This year, and especially most recently, we have seen far too much violence in our city,” Aguilera said. “We must all come together as a city, schools, government, families, and city residents, faith community, nonprofit agencies, and leaders to collectively work on creating a safe and healthy Oakland.”
Oakland Police Department spokesperson Paul Chambers told The Oaklandside on late Wednesday afternoon that the shooting occurred outside a building on the campus. Police are currently looking for one suspect, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of multiple shooters.
All six victims are believed to have some association with the schools located on the campus, said Chambers, but the nature of those associations is not currently clear.
Two of the victims sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Chambers. Another was released from the hospital with minor injuries on Wednesday, and two more were expected to be released later in the day. One other victim with non-life-threatening injuries is expected to remain in the hospital.
The King Estates campus houses multiple schools: Sojourner Truth Independent Study, the co-located Rudsdale Continuation and Newcomer high schools, and Bay Tech charter school.
Oakland Unified School District spokesperson Jon Sasaki told The Oaklandside that OUSD will be making behavioral health staff available for impacted students and families. “We’re going to bring all the resources needed to ensure that our school community can process this and get through it together,” he said.
Staff at each of the schools on the campus followed district protocol for active shooter scenarios, said Sasaki, and should be commended for their handling of the situation. He urged the community to come together to support the affected kids and families.
“We as a community need to hold up the victims and families. We as a city need to come together to wrap our arms around these people.”
OUSD also released a statement on Wednesday afternoon to confirm that another nearby campus, Oakland Academy of Knowledge, was not impacted:
“The campus is near Oakland Academy of Knowledge (OAK) but it is important to note that the incident was NOT at OAK, nor did it have anything to do with that elementary school,” read the statement. “We currently do not have any information beyond what Oakland police are reporting. Once we do, we will be sure to release it via email.”
Mayor Libby Schaaf tweeted shortly after 3 p.m. that all of the six reported victims had been sent to local hospitals where they were being treated and that the school site had safely evacuated all children and families.
The Oaklandside will update this article with new information as we receive it.
