California news: 2 shot dead, 2 injured in Oakland after verbal duel heats up | Today News

California news: Two people were shot dead, and two others were injured on Saturday morning after a verbal altercation escalated, said the San Francisco Bay police.

According to a statement by the Oakland Police Department, officers were called to the 1600 block of 83rd Ave. in a residential part of East Oakland just after 9 am. Four victims were found with gunshot wounds, further said the statement.

The police further mentioned that while two of the victims died on-site, the other two were taken to a hospital.

Several people were engaged in a verbal altercation that became deadly when one of the individuals pulled out a firearm and fired multiple rounds before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, police said.

Police are withholding thenames of the victims until next of kin are notified.

Oakland is a city of 400,000 that has struggled with crime and public safety.

Oakland mayoral election in November 

Such a situation comes at a crucial point, when Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is set for a recall election in November, along with the county’s district attorney, Pamela Price.

The home Thao shares with her partner and son was raided by the FBI in June as part of an investigation that included searches of other houses owned by a politically connected family that owns a recycling company.

According to a report by the AP, Thao, however, has said she has done nothing wrong.