California IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : City Again Among Deadliest in U.S.

A night of bloodshed that left two dead and four wounded made 1989 a record year for homicides in Oakland and restored the city to its former place among the deadliest towns in the nation, police said. The killing that pushed Oakland past the previous record occurred Thursday night at a Chevron gas station where an unemployed Vietnam veteran earning change by pumping self-service gas was beaten and shot, said Oakland Police Lt. Michael Sims. The deaths brought the number killed this year to 148, two more than the 1986 record, Sims said. With a holiday weekend left before the year’s end and one victim clinging to life, the number is likely to rise before the counting stops, he said. Oakland’s homicide rate of 41.5 killings per 100,000 was higher than New York City or Los Angeles and placed the city of 356,300 in a league with New Orleans, Detroit and Washington.