OAKLAND, Calif. – A 1-year-old boy was undergoing surgery Monday night after he and seven others were wounded in a hail of gunfire along an Oakland street.
Surgeons were trying to relieve swelling on the boy's brain after his father, who was also shot, drove him to Children's Hospital in Oakland, relatives told KTVU-TV.
"We are aware of a 1-year-old boy who was shot -- possibly in the head -- in critical condition right now," Oakland Police Lt. Robert Chan told the station. The hospital declined to release any details about the victim.
The wounded were taken to local hospitals by others at the scene before officers arrived to find dozens of bullet casings near the parking lot where the crowd had gathered early Monday evening, police said.
The shootings happened just after 6 p.m. near I-880 in the city's West Oakland neighborhood, said Oakland Police Officer Johnna Watson, a police spokeswoman.
The other victims' conditions were unclear, though police said their injuries did not appear life-threatening.
Investigators were seeking multiple shooters, but further details on suspects or a motive were not immediately available.
Television footage showed a van belonging to an Oakland rapper that was riddled with bullet holes and had apparently taken some of the victims to the hospital.
The rapper, who goes by the name Kafani, posted to Twitter on Monday that he had not been shot but to pray for his little cousin. He said news reports that he had been shooting a music video when the shooting took place were incorrect.
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