This year’s Juneteenth festivities coincided with a wave of nationwide violence spanning from Oakland, California, all the way to Chicago, Illinois, and beyond.
Juneteenth, a holiday designed to celebrate the day that the last group of black slaves was freed in 1865, has, it appears, instead become a holiday beset by death and destruction.
Over in Oakland, 15 people were shot during a Juneteenth celebration that occurred last Wednesday, according to PBS News.
“Investigators found more than 50 shell casings at the scene,” the network reported. “At least one gunshot victim was in critical condition. The victims’ ages ranged from 20 to 30 years old.”
In addition, when local police tried to direct the crowd to safety, they were attacked by “several people.”
In Kansas City, which is a couple of longitudinal points to the right of Oakland but still southwest of Chicago, a “fatal shooting” occurred near a Juneteenth celebration Friday night, according to The Kansas City Star. Several people were injured, and one man killed.
“Paramedics responded and pronounced the man dead at the scene,” according to the news outlet. “They also transported the two women to a hospital with injuries police believed to be not life-threatening.”
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By Saturday morning, “dried blood could be seen scattered across several spots in the road” and flowers had been laid in honor of the victim.
In Atlanta, which is southeast of Kansas City, a 19-year-old was shot in the elbow and an 18-year-old was killed during a Juneteenth shooting, according to local station WXIA-TV.
The shooting happened at a vigil to honor two young men who were killed during shootings that occurred almost exactly a year earlier.
“Jamarquez McCrary and Nyriek Olds … were found last year with multiple gunshot wounds in the breezeway at the complex” where the shooting occurred, as noted by WXIA.
The worst of the Juneteenth violence happened in Chicago, where at least 38 people were shot and eight killed during the holiday weekend, according to CBS News.
So many people were hurt that President Donald Trump took note of the shootings in a Truth Social post published earlier this weekend, when the death toll hadn’t quite reached eight yet:
JUST NOW: President Trump highlighted devastating wave of violence swept across Chicago, leaving at least 22 people shot and 5 dead across the city.
Just after 11:00 p.m., a large crowd had gathered for a Juneteenth holiday celebration in the 200 block of West 95th Street in… pic.twitter.com/hm8nI2VIVG
— Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) June 21, 2026
Moving farther to the east, a Juneteenth festival in Columbia, South Carolina’s Finlay Park had to be shuttered after multiple fights broke out.
“Three juveniles and one adult were taken into custody,” according to local station WRDW-TV. “City officials closed the park around 7 p.m. as officers broke up the fights.”
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language and scenes of violence that some may find offensive.
🚨HOLY CRAP!!!
A mob of “teens” shut down the LARGEST Juneteenth festival in South Carolina after they began BEATING EACH OTHER!
Witnesses say that dozens of “teens” began PUNCHING EACH OTHER and ATTACKING OTHER TEENS at the family-friendly festival, and then families with… pic.twitter.com/InnmP11cE7
— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) June 21, 2026
A man was killed and several others injured during a separate Juneteenth shooting this Saturday evening in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“A 22-year-old man was hit and killed under the interstate overpass in the area,” the Tulsa Police Department reported. “Seven others ranging in age from 17 to an elderly woman were hit by gunfire and taken to local hospitals for treatment.”
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