A Stolen Team of Journalists and a Retired Policeman Gunshot While Covering an Oakland Teachers Strike

February 25, 2019, 15:20 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri

A California press team was robbed under the threat of a gun and his bodyguard, a retired police officer, was shot and taken to hospital on Sunday, police said.

Members of CBS's subsidiary, KPIX 5, were conducting interviews while covering the Oakland teachers' strike Sunday afternoon, when they announced to police that a car had stopped in front of their van press.

"Two suspects came out of the car and one of them brandished a gun, demanding their camera," the television channel reported. "The crew returned the equipment and then began to return to the van."

KPIX 5 reporter Joe Vazquez wrote on Twitter After the incident, his fellow photographer John Anglin and himself heard a "gust of gunfire".

A disturbing news: a journalist from KPIX @joenewsman and the crew were to cover the #OaklandTeachersStrike when they were stripped of the camera and the tripod. Their security guard was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital. We will keep you posted. ?

– KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) February 25, 2019

It is at that time that one of the suspects, the security man and the security guard, exchanged shots. The guard was wounded in the leg and transported to a local hospital, according to a statement from the Oakland Police Department.

The guard, who is a retired officer from the Berkeley Police Department, is in a stable state.

Shortly after, police said that a man with gunshot wounds had entered a nearby hospital where he had been arrested by police officers. More than an hour later, the police were pursuing a suspect in the vehicle in connection with the incident and the driver was also arrested.

The Oakland Police Department said an investigation was underway to confirm whether these incidents were related to armed robbery and gunfire.