UPDATE:A security guard who had been protecting a TV crew was shot and killed.
A retired police officer was assigned to guard KRON4’s reporters during an armed robbery. He was attacked when one of 12 robbers tried to take the crew’s cameras.
Kevin Nishita is a father to two and grandfather to three. He was shot in his lower abdomen. He was taken to the hospital, but he died on Saturday morning.
EARLIER:On Wednesday, an unidentified Berkeley security guard was shot and another Berkeley man was also shot. The incident occurred as KRON4’s TV crew was filming in Oakland. Bay Area News Station reports.
Ironically, while reporting on another crew member in a string thefts at Oakland’s Prime 356 clothing store Prime 356 smash-and-grabs, the crew was attacked by armed robbers. The police say that the criminals wanted their camera equipment. They fired shots at them around 12:20 on November 24, according to police.
The crew’s security guard—a former police officer—is reportedly in stable condition after being shot in the lower abdomen and taken to Highland Hospital for surgery. Another victim was also taken to Highland Hospital and is reported to be stable. The attempted robbery ended in failure.Result: Unable to continue.
KRON4, the station’s parent company Nexstar Media Inc., the Oakland Police Department and security company Star Protection Agency are offering a reward of $25,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the individual or individuals involved in the shootings.
The Prime 356 robbery, and the targeting and arrest of the Oakland camera crew are just two of a number of crimes that have been occurring in the Bay Area and Los Angeles in recent weeks. A robbery that involved 80 people took place at a Nordstrom store in San Francisco last Saturday. The night prior, a string of incidents unfolded at San Francisco’s Union Square, with Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Bloomingdale’s and Walgreens among the businesses hit, according to S.F. Police Chief Bill Scott via CNN.
This past Wednesday, an L.A.-area Nordstrom was hit, with around $25,000 worth of designer handbags stolen from Canoga Park’s Westfield Topanga mall, and another security guard coming under attack.
Other L.A.-area targets include The Grove, Beverly Center and CVS Pharmacy at the 5800 block on South Vermont Avenue. Also recently, the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills and Louis Vuitton were smashed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Governor, made a statement regarding the string crime that has rocked California Monday while touring a Bay Area clinic for vaccines. “I have no sympathy, no empathy whatsoever for people smashing and grabbing, stealing people’s items, creating havoc and terror on our streets. None. Period. Full stop,”He stated. “We want real accountability. We want people prosecuted, and we want people to feel safe this holiday season.”
City News Service contributed this report.