2 Arrests In Violent Armed Robbery, Attack On News Crew At Oakland Library
OAKLAND (KPIX)– Oakland police arrested two men in connection with a violent attack on a KPIX news crew Sunday night.
KPIX reporter Joe Vasquez and KPIX photographer John Anglin were covering the Oakland Teacher's strike Sunday evening waiting for an interview on the 1000 block of 81st Street in Oakland when two suspects approached the live truck, held a gun to Anglin's head, stole his news camera, and fired shots at a hired security guard hitting him in the leg.
The security guard is out of the hospital and expected to recover.
"The security guard says he turned to run to retreat, there were no words exchanged, the gunman came straight up and shot him," Vasquez said.
Oakland Police spokesperson Johnna Watson says detectives have been up all night conducting interviews, they won't release the names of suspects or charges until the District Attorney's Office formally files charges. They did confirm the robbers shot first, something Reporter Joe Vasquez can personally attest to.
READ ALSO: TV News Crew Robbed In Oakland, Security Guard Shot
Attacks on news crews are not a new issue. Oakland Police say they became a consistent problem in 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The attacks are impacting amateur photographers too. Daniel Gallo says he was shooting pictures of Christmas lights back on December 19th when two men knocked him to the ground, "punched me in the side of the face, I was holding onto the tripod but they took my camera," Gallo said.
Gallo says San Francisco Police haven't made an arrest in his case and he still doesn't know what happened to his camera. It's changed the way he approaches photo shoots.
"I don't go out in the evening anymore if I do I bring someone with me but I'm still on edge," Gallo said.
Vasquez echoes that sentiment saying, "any day of the week, anywhere we go it could be potentially dangerous, but this was outrageous."
Oakland Police say it's too early to tell if this robbery was related to any other attacks on the news media in the Bay Area.
