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Miguel Ramirez Rivera was killed in Oakland on Jan. 3, 2026. Photo: GoFundMe

OAKLAND, Calif. – As Oakland closed out 2025, the city’s police department saw its lowest homicide rate since the late 1960s. Just four days into the new year, Oakland had already clocked five homicides at the start of 2026.

5 killed over 4 days

By the numbers:

Three separate shootings occurred over the course of four days that killed five people – on Jan. 1 and 5, respectively, according to police and the police union. Police have yet to disclose much about the deaths, although in one of the cases, a suspect has been arrested. As of Monday, the Alameda County Coroner had not formally identified the people killed, though in two of the cases, family and friends did. 

On New Year’s Day, two people were killed in unrelated shootings. 

The first shooting occurred after 11 a.m. Thursday in the 2700 block of East 20th Street, where a 47-year-old man who had been riding a bicycle was killed, according to a witness. 

The second shooting on Jan. 1 happened just before 1:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Market Street.

Wesley Broach, 35, the owner of Cuts by Wesley, a walk-in barbershop near 45th and Market streets, was arrested in connection with the latter shooting, where family members identified the victim as 30-year-old Tariq Roddy Figueroa.

They described Figueroa as someone who loved nature and gardening and doted on his nieces and nephews.

A motive for the shooting has not been revealed. 

Triple homicide outside Sky Market

Oakland police investigate a triple homicide outside Sky Market. Jan. 1, 2026 Photo: Angela Barron 

Why you should care:

Then, on Jan. 5, three people were fatally shot just after 3 a.m. in the 8400 block of International Boulevard. 

Video at the scene showed the shooting occurred near Sky Market. 

The East Bay Times reported that there were about a dozen customers inside the store when an argument started that turned physical. At least one person pulled out a gun and started shooting, according to the newspaper. Two young men died at the shop, and a 54-year-old man died later at the hospital. 

Miguel Rivera identified one of those killed as his father, Miguel Ramirez Rivera.

“Our lives were turned upside down,” the son wrote on a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses. 

He said his father was “in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that reality is something we’re still struggling to process.”

He said his father was not involved in anything nefarious and was just going about his life when he was killed.

“This loss was sudden, violent, and completely unexpected,” the son wrote, declining to be interviewed by KTVU. “One moment he was here, and the next he was gone. No warning. No chance to say goodbye. Our hearts are broken, and we’re doing our best to lean on God to get through this pain.”

Oakland police have not said much about the triple homicide and whether the three people killed knew each other, or innocent bystanders. Police have also not disclosed a motive or if anyone has been arrested. 

Big picture view:

The scene of a triple homicide in Oakland on Jan. 5, 2026

End-of-year data for 2025 show that Oakland’s homicide rate had dropped to lows not seen for nearly a half a century. 

In all of 2025, Oakland had 57 homicides compared to 74 murders in 2024, and 117 in 2023, representing a 32% decrease compared to the three-year, year-to-date average.

What you can do:

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED in helping the family of Miguel Rivera, click here. Anyone with information is asked to call OPD investigators at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950.

OaklandCrime and Public Safety