Neighbor says Oakland police should have arrested shooter days ago

Byby Sergio Quintana KGO logo
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Neighbor says Oakland police should have arrested shooter days ago
A man was taken into custody by Oakland Police Friday morning after firing numerous shots near the Oakland Zoo and prompting the lockdown of Bishop O'Dowd High School. Neighbors say he had been shooting up the neighborhood for a week.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- An Oakland man who was shot by police after a standoff died Friday night. He went on a bizarre shooting rampage at his home near the Oakland Zoo firing shots at officers.

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One neighbor tells us Jesse Enjaian inherited his home on Las Vegas Avenue when his grandfather died a few years ago and since, he's painted the windows black and installed security cameras on the property.

He died Friday but he had been shooting up the neighborhood for a week.

He fired at officers from his second-story window and he fired from his front lawn. Enjaian was eventually shot by police and died several hours after being rushed to a local hospital.

"Friday night he shot up my son's friend's car and Tuesday night he shot up two cars in the street, Tuesday morning rather," said neighbor Clifton Simpson.

Enjaiah was not taken into custody. Residents had since been on edge.

"Look, you don't know what this guy's gonna do," said Simpson. "If he's already done that twice you don't know when he's going to snap. And he snapped today evidently, that's what he did, he snapped today."

A police spokesperson could not confirm how many times officers had been to his home--that's part of their ongoing investigation. One neighbor, who didn't want to talk on camera, said Friday morning's shootout was startling.

"As I pulled the shade back, I heard more rounds and so I thought, 'Maybe someone is shooting at me,'" Simpson told ABC7 News.

At one point Enjaian painted something on his neighbor's garage and even pointed his rifle at our Sky7 chopper as it hovered ahead. He was shot shortly after that.

Simpson says his neighbor should have been arrested days ago. When asked if he could describe the situation he said, "I'm pissed. They should have got him Friday night."

It's still not clear what set off Enjaian's shooting spree.

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An OPD cruiser was shot at by a suspect on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 in Oakland, Calif.
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