Airbnb to ban 'party houses' after California shooting

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky took to Twitter on Saturday to announce the company will be prohibiting unauthorized house parties in the wake of a deadly shooting during a Halloween party in a Bay Area rental home in California.

According to The Associated Press, Chesky said the popular San Francisco-based technology company will enhance its screening of what it considers "high risk" reservations. The CEO also pledged to remove guests who do not comply with the new measures. Chesky noted Airbnb will form a "rapid response team" to handle complaints of unauthorized parties.

What happened?

The new Airbnb policy comes after gunfire erupted on Halloween at around 11 p.m. in Orinda, California. The shooting claimed the lives of five people and several others were injured. Among the deceased victims are 19-year-old Oshiana Tompkins of Vallejo/Hercules; 22-year-old Tiyon Farley of Antioch; 24-year-old Omar Taylor of Pittsburg; 23-year-old Ramon Hill Jr. of San Francisco/Oakland; and 29-year-old Javin County of Sausalito/Richmond.

As of Friday night, no suspect has been identified or arrested. Speaking with the media, Orinda Police Chief David Cook said, "When the officers arrived, the encountered at least 100 people running from the home."

Police found two firearms at the scene during the investigation. The weapons are being analyzed to determine if they are connected to the shooting or any other crimes. The motive of the shooting remains unknown, as well as whether there was more than one gunman involved in the shooting that caused partygoers to panic into the streets.

More details

"Everybody started running, scrambling," said an attendee of the party. "People were just collapsing and friends were helping friends. It was a scary situation and then as everyone is panicking and stuff, there were more shots."

The party occurred at a four-bedroom house and had been advertised on social media as an "Airbnb mansion party," reports say. The online flier instructed attendees to send a direct message to obtain the location and to "BYOB" (Bring Your Own Booze) and "BYOW" (Bring Your Own Weed), reported The Mercury News.

The city of Orinda is located approximately 17 miles east of downtown San Francisco and has ordinances requiring short-term rental hosts to register with the city annually and caping maximum occupancy at 13 people.