OAKLAND — Two men were fatally shot late Saturday when their car was fired upon at a West Oakland housing project that used to be the main turf of a violent drug gang broken up by police last month.

Police said it is too early to say whether the shooting at the Acorn housing project — and one a few hours earlier a short distance away in which no one was hurt — are related to the police sweep against Acorn gang members in June.

Killed Saturday night were Deshon Barker, 27, who according to police recently moved to San Francisco from Fairfield but may have also had ties to Oakland, and Jarvis Hodges, a 26-year-old East Oakland resident. The two men apparently were friends, police said.

The shooting happened about 10:50 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of Adeline Street.

Sgt. Derwin Longmire said Sunday the two men were in a car when at least one person started shooting at the vehicle. Longmire would not say who was driving. Both men were hit more than once and the car stopped in the street.

Barker died a short time later at a local hospital. Jarvis died from his wounds Sunday morning.

Longmire said police are not sure what the men were doing in the area or what the motive for the shooting was. No arrests have been made.

Three hours earlier, someone fired numerous shots at a vehicle in the 1000 block of 8th Street a few blocks away but apparently no one was hit. Police don't know yet if the incidents are

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connected.

Things had been quiet in the housing complex since June 17, when police did a series of raids culminating what they called "Operation Nutcracker" and announced the arrests of more than 50 suspected members of the Acorn drug gang.

Police said at the time the gang was responsible for dozens of killings, shootings and other crimes connected to its drug dealing enterprises and that the arrests should have a significant impact on the violence.

The killings brought Oakland's homicide total for the year to 71. Last year at this time there were 57 homicides in the city.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $15,000 in reward money in the case for information leading to the arrest of the gunman. Anyone with information can call police at 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 777-8572 or 777-3211.