What happened?
On Friday, February 2nd at the monthly First Friday event, Kiante Campbell, 17, was killed and three others wounded in a shooting (see Mercury News).
Official Response
At a City Council Meeting in February, City Council members had differing responses to the event. Larry Reid expressed concern that First Friday was draining resources from his district and should be shut down. Lynette McElhaney, who represents District 3 where First Friday is held, said that she was not interested in shutting down the event, but would work towards making the event more sustainable.
Owners and representatives from businesses in the area such as Luka's Taproom, the Paramount Theatre and the Fox Theatre spoke about closing the event or drastically reducing its footprint.
In Mayor Quan's State of the City address she announced that the March event would be alcohol free. (see SFGate): public drinking rules would be enforced and galleries would not be allowed to give out drinks. She said the event would be "themed" to peace (and then said "we'll see if we survive that.")
Local Responses
The day after the shooting, a blog from 38th Notes about the incident went viral.
Heal the Hood held down the fort at the March event.
Peace in Oakland Solutions Salon held a discussion for recommendations on the event.
