Juneteenth mass shooting victim loses finger, shot in leg
An East Bay man gave a first-hand account of the chaos and violence that erupted at Juneteenth celebrations that turned violent last week near Lake Merritt in Oakland.
Oakland, Calif. – An East Bay man gave a first-hand account of the chaos and violence that erupted at a Juneteenth celebration that turned violent near Lake Merritt last week. Oakland.
Mason Ma was shot multiple times and suffered life-changing injuries.
He is still struggling with the trauma of what happened and is in a lot of pain.
Ma never thought that having dinner with a friend would change her life.
He questions why the police haven’t talked to him yet about what happened and is still shaken after being shot three times.
“I heard the first pop and thought it was illegal crackers. But then, I felt pain in my right arm.
The pain was caused by a bullet in his finger, which has now been amputated.
That night, he was walking to a restaurant to have dinner with a friend when a sideshow caught his attention.
Ma said while he was distracted, a young man deliberately shot at him.
He said he crawled under the car and tried to escape.
Then someone, not seeing who it was, fired two more shots, hitting him in both thighs.
Ma said there appeared to be a gun battle between the two groups.
He doesn’t know if it was the same person who fired all three shots at him or if he was caught in the crossfire when he was shot in the leg.
“It wasn’t just one guy shooting into a crowd,” Ma said. “It looked like they were going against each other. At the same time some shots were fired.”
Ma said that when he arrived at the hospital, he learned that the medical staff wanted to amputate his right leg because he was bleeding profusely, and that the staff were treating numerous critical patients.
“I grabbed the trauma doctor and wouldn’t let him go. He really helped me. He did me a favor,” Ma said.
His shock was compounded by the lack of answers and action.
He said he previously felt safe in the Lake Merritt area.
“Disappointed, disappointed by both Auckland Police And the city for not keeping him safe,” Ma said. “It’s been a week. No police came to ask me anything. I don’t even know if I am considered a victim on their list.”
Ma says she still has bullets in her leg.
He will need more surgery. But he is determined to walk again.
Ma said she didn’t have medical insurance. His family a Fundraiser for that.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow him on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU
