OAKLAND — Police here say they have connected at least seven different shootings targeting businesses on or near the International Boulevard corridor, at least four targeting the same cafe after-hours.

No one was injured in any of the incidents, but that may not have been the point. Police say that several of the shootings targeted a cafe whose owner had allegedly refused a group of men that had demanded $700 in weekly payouts just before the first incident occurred.

The apparent shakedown — and evidence definitively linking the seven 2024 shootings — have led police to investigate the possibility that the incidents are part of attempts to shake down local businesses. Thus far, no arrests have been made.

The businesses have included a smoke shop on the 2200 block of International Boulevard that was struck by gunfire twice within four days last August, a gift shop one block away struck by several bullets just 11 minutes before the second shooting at the smoke shop, and a cafe on the 1700 block of International Boulevard, which was hit four different times — once in June, twice in late September, and once in early October, authorities said.

Also struck by gunfire was a clothing boutique owned by Brenda Grisham, an Oakland woman who led the successful recall of ex-District Attorney Pamela Price and whose business is adjacent to the cafe. In an interview, Grisham said she had “no idea” why anyone would have shot up her business, which was hit during the October shooting.

The incidents started on June 10, when the cafe was shot an estimated nine times, according to police investigators. The August shootings at the smoke shop involved dozens of rounds being fired, including once when seven people were inside, authorities said. In one of the smoke shop shootings, a suspect was reportedly seen on video wearing a hoodie and carrying a semi-automatic pistol equipped with a green laser.

The cafe was hit again in late September; that time, police found expended rifle and pistol casings at the scene, authorities said. The final shooting, on Oct. 6, appeared to target not just the cafe but True Blenz, a clothing store owned by Grisham.

Grisham said a bullet hole was left in the window of the store during the pre-dawn Oct. 6 shooting. She claimed to have previously viewed security footage of the shooting, which she said depicted a man shooting into her building, before turning and shooting at the nearby cafe.

While she has often complained about enduring harassment as one of the organizers of the recall group, Save Alameda for Everyone, Grisham said she has “no idea – none whatsoever” why a bullet hole ended up in one of her businesses that day.

“It is what it is,” Grisham said.

Police were baffled by the cafe shootings, with the owner reportedly telling investigators he couldn’t explain why the business was repeatedly targeted. Later, authorities say they received a tip that three men came to the cafe demanding unofficial “rent” payments totaling $700 each week, and that the shootings began after they were turned away.

Authorities say they gathered multiple types of evidence linking the shootings, and eventually impounded a vehicle that they believe was used in at least two shootings but later abandoned.

Extortion rings aren’t unheard of in the city, but typically target the more illicit businesses in town. Police have responded to numerous violent incidents stemming from prostitution shakedowns, and a man suspected of assaulting a gambling den patron in 2022 has also been investigated for allegedly going around gambling dens demanding protection money, authorities said.

Staff writer Harry Harris contributed reporting