UPDATE: A security guard who was protecting a TV crew before being shot has died.
The guard, a retired police officer, was hired to protect KRON4 reporters at the scene of an armed robbery. He was attacked when one of 12 robbers tried to take the crew’s cameras.
Kevin Nishita was a father of two and grandfather of three. He was shot in the lower abdomen and was rushed to the hospital for surgery, but died Saturday morning.
EARLIER: An unnamed security guard and an unidentified Berkeley man were shot in Oakland on Wednesday, as a TV crew for KRON4 was targeted for robbery while filming, the Bay Area news station reports.
Ironically, the crew found itself targeted by armed robbers while reporting on another in a string of smash-and-grab thefts at Oakland clothing store Prime 356. Police say the criminals were after their camera equipment, with shots fired around 12:20 p.m. on November 24.
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. The second victim caught up in the incident was also transported to Highland Hospital for treatment, and is likewise reported to be in stable condition. Ultimately, the attempted robbery proved unsuccessful.
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 of the Oakland camera crew are the latest in a series of crimes which have hit both the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area in recent weeks. Last Saturday, a San Francisco-area Nordstrom store became the target of a robbery allegedly involving 80 people. 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 recent L.A.-area venues targeted include the Beverly Center, The Grove, and a CVS Pharmacy in the 5800 block of South Vermont Avenue in South L.A. The windows of Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills were also recently smashed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered a statement with regard to the string of crimes rocking California on Monday, while touring a Bay Area vaccine clinic. “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 said. “We want real accountability. We want people prosecuted, and we want people to feel safe this holiday season.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
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