4 killed in Halloween party shooting at Airbnb rental in wealthy California neighborhood

1 November، 2019

Four people were killed and at least three people were wounded in a shooting at a Halloween party at a rental home in a wealthy San Francisco Bay Area community, officials said. The shooting Thursday night in Orinda, near Oakland, happened at a party attended by 100 people, police chief David Cook told the East Bay Times.

Michael Wang, who owns the home, said he rented it out to a woman through Airbnb for what the woman said would be a family reunion for a dozen people, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Wang said his wife reached out to the woman after neighbors called complaining about excessive noise. The woman said there were only 12 people at the party, but Wang said he could see more people via video from his Ring doorbell camera.

According to social-media posts, an “AirBNB mansion party” had been advertised for Thursday night, CBS San Francisco reported.

Airbnb spokesman Ben Breit said in an email that the home’s Airbnb ad included prohibitions on parties, weapons, smoking and marijuana use. The listing also said quiet hours must be observed between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. because neighboring homes are close by.

Breit said Airbnb has banned the renter from its platform and the home has been removed as a listing.

Police did not immediately provide information about what prompted the violence at the home, which is located in a neighborhood of multimillion-dollar houses and last sold for $1.2 million in 2017.

The shooting was first reported around 10:30 p.m. Video from the scene showed multiple patients being loaded into ambulances as others limped away from the scene. Video also showed police talking to people who appeared injured.

Authorities initially reported that four people were wounded, but the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said later that the exact number of wounded victims was unknown because some of those injured went on their own to hospitals without the assistance of authorities. One patient was in critical condition at the John Muir Medical Center in the nearby city of Walnut Creek, hospital spokesman Ben Drew said. Another patient was in serious condition and a third was treated and released.

The California Highway Patrol and other agencies were reportedly called to the scene due to the size of the crowd at the site. Police told CBS San Francisco they were overwhelmed by the crowd where the shooting happened.

Orinda Mayor Inga Miller told KCBS Radio she had not previously heard of any complaints about short-term rentals in the neighborhood. City officials had regulated the industry with an ordinance and a registry.

“It’s a very somber day here in Orinda,” she said.