It was a cascade of violence and lawlessness in Oakland.
First, a man was struck by a stolen car during an illegal sideshow on the night of Jan. 26, then he and his friend responded by shooting up the vehicle, while a third bystander pulled his gun and fired aimlessly into the air.
When the smoke cleared, a 20-year-old man was dead, two others were suffering serious injuries from gunfire, and the crowd was fleeing the area, leaving a bullet-riddled Infiniti G37S behind, police said.
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That’s when detectives by chance discovered the gambling shack nearby. The result was a Jan. 30 raid, where officers seized drugs, guns, unlicensed slot machines, and cash. The triple shooting remains under investigation, as investigators continue to piece together exactly who did what, and when.
The man killed that night has been identified as Ethan Pereira, 20, of Sunnyvale, but even this identification didn’t come easy. According to police and media reports, Pereira had no identification on him, and officers only confirmed his identity five days later, by matching a distinctive tattoo on his body.
Pereira was apparently watching the sideshow near the intersection of 10th Avenue and East 12th Street when the Infiniti struck another spectator, who responded by pulling a gun. The spectator and a second gunman began firing at the Infiniti, prompting another suspect to fire into the air, authorities said.
Pereira and two others were hit by bullets. A group of people loaded him into a vehicle and rushed him to the hospital, authorities said, the same location to which the two other victims also self-transported. Pereira was declared dead later that night.
Police discovered the gambling den, on the 1000 block of East 12th Street, during their search for security cameras that could have captured the shooting. On Jan. 30, they raided the establishment and later announced several arrests, including one of a person who was wanted for a shooting, though authorities haven’t said which shooting.
The O Heraldo newspaper, which is based in India, says Pereira moved to the Bay Area from India roughly 10 years ago, and is now being mourned in both countries. His grandparents are coming to California for his funeral next week, the newspaper reported.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed reporting.