Expand / Collapse search
☰

Oakland Chinatown store owner who intervened in robbery arrested

By KTVU staff
Updated  February 17, 2021 7:47am PST
Crime and Public Safety
KTVU FOX 2

Oakland Chinatown shop owner intervenes in robbery, fires gunshots

An Oakland Chinatown shop owner fired four gunshots Monday evening when they intervened in the robbery of a woman with a camera. Oakland police say no one was hurt and the suspect got away.

OAKLAND, Calif. - An Oakland Chinatown liquor store owner was arrested by police after he intervened in a robbery outside his store on Monday, KTVU has learned. 

A 36-year-old man faces one count of felony assault with a firearm, authorities said. 

A community member told KTVU that the store owner fired four gunshots when he witnessed a woman being robbed for her camera outside his store at 9th and Franklin streets on Monday at about 5:45 p.m. No one was injured after his gun went off. 

Oakland's new police chief addressed what occurred at a Tuesday news conference. 

"We don't want people to fire weapons into our community. There could be unintended victims," Chief LeRonne Armstrong said. 

The chief's message was that Oakland should come together as a community and citizens should not put one another in harm's way.

The store owner was bailed out on Tuesday at $60,000, the sheriff's department said.

The Alameda County District Attorney's office will review the case. There is no timeline available on when the possible charges will be filed.  

Armstrong said there is now a liason officer assigned to Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood as the neighborhood faces safety concerns.