Oakland police are investigating the stabbing death of a man but said there is no evidence yet that it was a hate crime.
Sources told the Bay Area Reporter that a gay Black man was reportedly stabbed March 4 in the Adams Point neighborhood near Lake Merritt. His name has not been released by the police department or the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau, pending notification of next of kin.
There's "no evidence of a hate crime" in a Saturday morning stabbing death near Oakland's Lake Merritt, according to police.
Paul Chambers, the strategic communication manager for the Oakland Police Department, also stated "officers are actively investigating all possible leads."
Police responded to the 200 block of Vernon Street just before 8 a.m. Saturday after a report of a disturbance, Oakland Police Officer Darryl Rodgers stated in an email to the B.A.R.
"Upon arrival, officers located an Oakland resident with multiple lacerations," Rodgers stated. "The victim succumbed to their injuries and medical units pronounced the victim deceased on scene. Investigators from the OPD Homicide Section responded to the scene to begin the follow-up investigation into the circumstances surrounding the homicide. The victim's identity is being withheld pending notification to next of kin."
Chambers confirmed to the B.A.R. after the initial publication of this report that the "disturbance" consisted of "reports of an individual screaming."
"When officers arrived, Oakland Fire Department (OFD) were already on scene," Chambers stated, as there was a fire that firefighters extinguished. "The victim is 53 years of age."
The man was a member of the Oakland Gay Men's Chorus, according to Joe Rosenmayer, president of the group's board of directors. The man "was not currently singing with us ... we did receive word that he died through mutual friends and members from his church," Rosenmayer said.
As this is an active investigation, anyone with information is asked to contact the OPD homicide section at (510) 238-3821 or the tip line at (510) 238-7950.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's office declined to comment for this report, referring the B.A.R. to police.
Updated, 3/7/23: This article has been updated with additional information from Oakland police.
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