But later on Wednesday, the Oakland Police Department issued a statement suggesting that the five apparent nooses discovered near Lake Merritt could be part of an exercise routine or equipment.
Some neighbors expressed skepticism at that suggestion, and Schaaf noted that even if they were used for that purpose, it did not “remove nor excuse their tortuous and terrorizing effects.”
For a little over a week, the crime was a mystery. Was it tied to the protests just blocks away? Even after the suspected killer was dramatically caught in the nearby mountains eight days later, his motive was murky.
Now, federal authorities say the man, identified as Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, was an adherent of the “Boogaloo Boys,” a growing online extremist movement that has sought to use peaceful protests against police brutality to spread fringe views and ignite a race war. Federal investigators allege that’s exactly what Carrillo was trying to do last month.
According to the Oakland Police Department, the California Highway Patrol was conducting a criminal investigation in the neighborhood.
(30.05.2020)
A Federal Protective Service (FPS) Officer was killed and another injured Friday in a shooting at a federal building in Oakland, Calif., amid protests and violence in the city over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd.
„We have witnessed an outright assault on our law enforcement community last night in Oakland, California,“ Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said at a Saturday news conference. „An assassin cowardly shot two Federal Protective Service contractors as they stood watch over a protest.“
Police have not ruled out the possibility that others were involved.
The ABC7 I-Team has new information about the suspect in the death of Santa Cruz County Sheriff‘s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller. Here‘s what we know about 32-year-old Steven Carrillo and why the FBI is investigating a possible link between the Santa Cruz and Oakland shootings.
The federal building was in the area of violent protests Friday night over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. FBI officials did not immediately say whether the shooting and protests are related.