Multiple women were seen twerking on the top of an ambulance in Lake Merritt in Oakland, California on Saturday night, as paramedics attempted to make their way through to the scene of a shooting in which one person was killed and at least seven others were wounded.
The ambulance was stopped in its tracks by the crowd which was said to be around 1,000-strong as people gathered to celebrate Juneteenth after it was declared a federal holiday.
As the ambulance arrived at the scene, the revelers continued to party, with no apparent regard for the seriousness of the situation that just occurred nearby.
A group of women were seen twerking on top of an ambulance in Oakland
EMT’s were attempting to make their way to the scene of a shooting but were blocked
The emergency vehicle was blocked from progressing by a mob of people
When the ambulance could go no further, at least five women began twerking at the side while another pair jumped on the hood of the emergency vehicle.
At least one person was also spotted on top of the roof at one point.
Video footage of the incident has gone viral on Twitter, showing Juneteenth partiers not only ignoring the Oakland shooting, but using the ambulance as a vehicle for them to use for their own enjoyment.
Police were on the scene to monitor the situation, they announced on Facebook, when shots rang out at 6:22 p.m.
At one point a man was seen dancing on top of the ambulance which had come to a halt
Around 1,000 were gathered in Lake Merritt to celebrate Juneteenth Crowd appeared completely unawares as to the seriousness of the situation
Six male victims ranging in age from 16 to 27 and one 21-year-old female suffered gunshot wounds, and a 22-year-old San Francisco resident died.
‘Immediately after the shooting, Oakland Police Officers observed two men running from the scene with firearms,’ the police department announced on Sunday. ‘Both men have been arrested and two firearms recovered.’
Police said it remains unclear whether the two individuals are connected to the shooting, and the Oakland Police Department is now offering up to $40,000 for any information about the mass shooting.
Investigators said they were trying to determine a motive for the shooting and identify suspects, but believe it has links to gang activity in neighboring San Francisco.
The shooting occurred shortly before 6:30pm about a mile north of the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, where hundreds of people had gathered throughout the day to commemorate June 19, 1865.
The women were stood on top of the hood of the car only to be encouraged by the crowd
The ambulance was forced to come to a halt as the women jumped on the hood
Several more women were seen twerking around the side of the vehicle
One man appeared to have a football with him as he jumped on top of the emergency vehicle
That was the date when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas, two months after the Confederacy had surrendered.
Andrew Simpson was jogging near the lake when he heard gunshots.
‘Out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy with a gun pointing at a car. Everyone started sprinting and screaming,’ Simpson told the Bay Area News Group.
Witnesses said some people ran into the water when shots rang out.
‘Tonight a joyous occasion at our Lake Merritt was marred by a senseless act of gun violence,’ said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in a statement.
It wasn’t immediately known whether there was any connection between the shooting and the Juneteenth events.
The footage appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program on Monday night who vented his fury at what he had witnessed.
‘What kind of society produces people like that who would behave like that? Do you know anybody who would behave like that? When you have people behave like that you have to ask yourself what are we as a society doing wrong?’ Carlson pondered.
‘Anybody who celebrates a shooting is not somebody you want to share a country with,’ he added.
The women were the center of attention as the ambulance was forced to come to a halt
Several people got out their cellphones in order to take video and photos of the twerking
The crowd appeared enthralled by what was occurring on top of the ambulance