Suspect Charged
A 23-year-old Oakland man has been charged in connection with a mass shooting at a Juneteenth celebration in the San Francisco Bay Area last month. JaJuan Kelly, 23, faces four counts of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm for the shooting of four people, the Alameda County district attorney’s office announced on Wednesday.
Multiple Suspects Sought
Authorities are still looking for multiple suspects involved in the incident. District Attorney Pamela Price expressed relief at the progress in the case, stating, “We are deeply relieved to announce that one of the individuals has been charged.”
The Incident
The shooting occurred on June 19 during an unsanctioned sideshow following a peaceful Juneteenth celebration attended by thousands. Kelly was one of 14 people shot and wounded. Fortunately, no one was killed, and the ages of those injured ranged from 20 to 30 years old. Police initially reported 15 people had been shot, but later corrected the number to 14.
Legal Defense
Ernie Castillo, an attorney for Kelly, suggested that his client may have acted in self-defense, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Further details on the defense claim are yet to be revealed.
Significance of Juneteenth
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and following the end of the Civil War. Designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has gained broader recognition beyond Black America.
