OAKLAND -- A top athlete at UC Berkeley returned to his high school alma mater in Oakland Wednesday afternoon, only to be caught in the middle of a wild shooting. The incident left no one injured, but forced the school to alter graduation plans out of safety concerns. Cal's starting running back Marshawn Lynch is a graduate of Oakland Tech and a potential candidate for college football's Heisman Trophy. Lynch was visiting his younger sister on her last day at Oakland Tech on Broadway at 42nd Street when suddenly bullets started flying. The shooting happened around noon. Witnesses say about five or six shots were fired toward a car near the campus. No one was hurt, but school officials still scrambled to lock down the campus. "They started locking the doors and the teachers started running down the hallways and started putting everyone in their classes," said Oakland Tech student Peter George.
"The car apparently had shots fired at it. It appears to be a case of mistaken identity, as no one in the car knew the shooter," said Kent Klintworth of the Cal athletic department. When asked if he felt Lynch was targeted, Klintworth confirmed the incident appeared to be completely random. The incident led Oakland Tech officials to move the graduation ceremony scheduled to take place at the school Wednesday evening to the Paramount Theater. About two hundred graduates of the school celebrated their commencement at the historic Art Deco theater. The shooting earlier in the day cast a pall over an otherwise festive occasion. Oakland police were on hand, virtually surrounding the location during the ceremony. Their presence was meant to help deter any possible violence after the incident. Some graduating students were disappointed that the threat of violence marred this momentous day in their young lives; others took the disruption in stride. "It happens around graduation time. It's one of those things you live with. That doesn't sound very good, …but it's just part of life as of now," said graduating senior Nora Larson. Outside the theater, Marshawn Lynch's mother said that her son was at the campus visiting friends and just wanted to wish his sister well on her last day of school. She also said a representative of the shooter went to her home to tell her that Marshawn was not the intended target of the shooting and to apologize. Exactly who the shooter was intending to go after isn't clear. Oakland police are continuing their investigation into the matter.
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