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Police Keep Quiet After Swarming West Oakland With SWAT Teams, Explosive Devices

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Oakland police served a search warrant in West Oakland early Tuesday morning that woke neighbors with what sounded like explosions.

Police, with the assistance of the FBI, served the warrant in the 3000 block of Filbert Street at about 5 a.m., Oakland police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said.

Neighbors in the area reported waking up to loud bangs, helicopters overhead and SWAT teams running through backyards.

A flier distributed by Oakland police to the neighborhood over social media said the action likely included use of an armored vehicle, deployment of a robot to remotely search areas, a public address system, and possibly projectiles or "loud diversionary devices."

Watson would not say what the warrant was for or if anyone was arrested.

The warrant was served only about two blocks from where 30-year-old Chyemil Pierce was gunned down as she tried to usher her children to safety from a gunfight that broke out nearby on March 9.

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Seven suspects have been arrested and charged in connection with the killing of Pierce, according to police.

Shortly after the shooting, some neighbors complained about frequent violence in the area and said they called police as the fight escalated, but that officers did not respond until after gunfire broke out.

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