Mike Kepka / The Chronicle 2012 A security guard was shot and wounded in Oakland on Sunday during a robbery of a KPIX television news crew before returning fire and apparently wounding a fleeing robber. Several people approached reporter Joe Vazquez and his crew around 5 p.m. outside a library on the 1000 block of 81st Avenue and stole the crew’s camera and tripod, Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Johnna Watson said.<doc-sep>OAKLAND, California -- Authorities arrested a man suspected of shooting the security guard of a news crew that was robbed while covering the Oakland teachers strike, according to a statement by the CBS affiliate.KPIX said a reporter and a photographer were gathering interviews Sunday about the strike at the Oakland Library when a car pulled up and the driver pulled a gun, demanding their camera. The crew surrendered the equipment and began walking away.The suspect then shot the guard, Matt Meredith, in the leg, the news station said. KPIX reporter Joe Vazquez said on Twitter that the guard, a retired Berkeley police officer, exchanged gunfire.An Alameda County Sheriff spokesman says a 21-year-old man with several gunshot wounds walked into a nearby hospital after the incident. Oakland police arrested the man on suspicion of shooting the news crew's guard.The guard's condition wasn't immediately known.Assaults on routine assignments became so commonplace in recent years that some television stations have hired armed guards to ride with news crews.No other information - including what time the robbery took place - was immediately released.It's not the first time the station has been the target of theft. In November 2012, a group of men punched a KPIX cameraman while he was filming in front of an Oakland high school and fled with his camera while it was still recording.Robberies of television news crews and still photographers have plagued the San Francisco Bay Area in recent years.The Associated Press tallied five robberies in 2012, two in 2013, three in 2014 and at least three in 2015 plus several burglaries of vehicles. "We don't know what the market is for these cameras," San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Andraychuk told The Associated Press in 2015. Even though the cameras can cost upward of $50,000 each, it is specialized equipment that can't be easily sold on the black market, Andraychuk said, and none of the stolen cameras have turned up on Craigslist, eBay or any other online marketplace.<doc-sep>OAKLAND — Police said they arrested two suspects in connection with the Sunday afternoon robbery of a television station’s photographer and shooting of a security guard outside a library. In a statement Sunday night, Oakland police Officer Johnna Watson said a three-person crew from a local television station was working a story in the 1000 block of 81st Avenue at 4:47 p.m., when a vehicle pulled up and two suspects got out and robbed the crew’s cameraman. According to police, one of the suspects shot the crew’s security guard in the upper leg, and the guard then returned fire. The suspects fled in the vehicle. The guard was taken to an area hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries He was later released, police said Monday. Around 5:15 p.m., a man apparently showed up at a local hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. Investigators said they were looking into whether he is connected with the incident. Oakland police said officers pursued a suspect vehicle until it crashed moments later at 55th and Bancroft avenues, with a solo driver detained. “Currently the Oakland Police Department has detained several other individuals in connection with this armed robbery/shooting and some of the loss has been recovered,” police said. On Monday, police said investigators had recovered the camera. In tweets Sunday, KPIX-TV said reporter Joe Vazquez was covering the Oakland teachers’ strike when they were robbed of a camera and tripod. A security guard watching over the reporter and crew was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital, the station said. “Our guard was shot today in Oakland while we were on assignment covering the Oakland teachers strike,” Vazquez said in follow-up tweets. “We believe his wounds are not life threatening, thank God. “Photographer John Anglin was robbed at gunpoint.John abandoned the camera, took cover inside the news van where I was and told me to get down. We heard a flurry of loud gunshots. Very close! More shots, I saw a guy drag the camera away and saw our guard Matt was hit. Quickly called 9-1-1.” Vazquez identified the guard as a former Berkeley police officer and said his wounds did not appear life threatening: “He got some shots off at the robber. We are trying to confirm if a ‘walk-in’ gunshot wound patient at a local hospital may have been the perpetrator.” For information leading to the arrest of a suspect, police are offering up to $10,000 in each shooting. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers of Oakland at 510-777-8572. Some troubling news: KPIX reporter @joenewsman and crew were out covering the #OaklandTeachersStrike when they were robbed of camera and tripod. Their security guard was shot in the leg and has been taken to the hospital. We will keep you updated. 🙏 — KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) February 25, 2019 Praying for the guard’s recovery. And so thankful our crew is safe. https://t.co/WESO2qKF3Y — Maria Medina KPIX5 (@MariaKPIX) February 25, 2019 Thank you, friends, for your well wishes. Our guard was shot today in Oakland while we were on assignment covering the Oakland teachers strike. We believe his wounds are not life threatening, thank God. Photographer John Anglin was robbed at gunpoint. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/TP225CUJNQ — Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) February 25, 2019 John abandoned the camera, took cover inside the news van where I was and told me to get down. We heard a flurry of loud gunshots. Very close! More shots, I saw a guy drag the camera away and saw our guard Matt was hit. Quickly called 9-1-1. pic.twitter.com/spinXPTiAC — Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) February 25, 2019 We believe Matt is going to be okay. His wounds do not appear to be life threatening. He is a retired @berkeleypolice officer. He got some shots off at the robber. We are trying to confirm if a “walk-in” gunshot wound patient at a local hospital may have been the perpetrator. — Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) February 25, 2019 Per Ray Kelly, spokesman at @ACSOSheriffs: a 21 year old man walked into Highland Hospital with several gunshot wounds this evening. Deputies held him and Oakland police arrested him as the suspect who shot our guard. — Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) February 25, 2019 Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.<doc-sep>A California news crew was robbed at gunpoint and the crew's bodyguard, a retired cop, was shot and taken to the hospital on Sunday, police said. Members of the CBS affiliate, KPIX 5, were conducting interviews while covering the Oakland teachers strike Sunday afternoon when they told police a car pulled up to their news van. "Two suspects got out of the car and one pulled a gun on the crew, demanding their camera," the news station reported. "The crew surrendered the equipment and then began walking back to the van." KPIX 5 reporter Joe Vazquez wrote on Twitter after the incident that he and his colleague, photographer, John Anglin, heard a "flurry of loud gunshots." Some troubling news: KPIX reporter @joenewsman and crew were out covering the #OaklandTeachersStrike when they were robbed of camera and tripod. Their security guard was shot in the leg and has been taken to the hospital. We will keep you updated. 🙏 — KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) February 25, 2019 That was when one of the suspected gunman and the security guard exchanged fire, resulting in the guard being wounded in the upper 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 stable condition. Shortly after, police said a man suffering gunshot wounds walked into a nearby hospital where he was detained by officers. More than an hour later, police engaged in a pursuit with a suspect in the vehicle in connection to the incident and the driver was also been detained. The Oakland Police Department said they are investigating to confirm if these incidents are connected to the armed robbery and shooting.<doc-sep>
Authorities arrested a man suspected of shooting the security guard of a news crew that was robbed while covering the Oakland teachers strike, according to a statement by the CBS affiliate. KPIX said a reporter and a photographer were gathering interviews before 5 p.m. Sunday about the strike at the Oakland Library when a car pulled up and the driver pulled a gun, demanding their camera. The crew surrendered the equipment and began walking away. "John (the photographer) abandoned the camera, took cover inside the news van where I was and told me to get down," KPIX reporter Joe Vazquez wrote on Twitter. "We heard a flurry of loud gunshots. Very close! More shots, I saw a guy drag the camera away and saw our guard Matt was hit. Quickly called 9-1-1." The guard, Matt Meredith, was hit in the leg, the news station said. Vazquez said on Twitter that the guard, a retired Berkeley police officer, has fired several shots. "We believe Matt is going to be okay. His wounds do not appear to be life threatening," Vazquez wrote. "He is a retired @berkeleypolice officer. He got some shots off at the robber. We are trying to confirm if a "walk-in" gunshot wound patient at a local hospital may have been the perpetrator." An Alameda County Sheriff spokesman says a 21-year-old man with several gunshot wounds walked into a nearby hospital after the incident. Oakland police arrested the man on suspicion of shooting the news crew's guard. The guard is stable at a hospital, the station reported. Assaults on routine assignments became so commonplace in recent years that some television stations have hired armed guards to ride with news crews. It's not the first time the station has been the target of theft. In November 2012, a group of men punched a KPIX cameraman while he was filming in front of an Oakland high school and fled with his camera while it was still recording. Robberies of television news crews and still photographers have plagued the San Francisco Bay Area in recent years. The Associated Press tallied five robberies in 2012, two in 2013, three in 2014 and at least three in 2015 plus several burglaries of vehicles. A 2015 incident made national headlines when a live shot was interrupted when a KTVU camera operator was pistol-whipped during a robbery while conducting a live report. "We don't know what the market is for these cameras," San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Andraychuk told The Associated Press in 2015. Even though the cameras can cost upward of $50,000 each, it is specialized equipment that can't be easily sold on the black market, Andraychuk said, and none of the stolen cameras have turned up on Craigslist, eBay or any other online marketplace. The Associated Press contributed to this report.