California News Crew Robbed, Guard Shot; Suspect Arrested

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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.

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.

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Assaults on routine assignments became so commonplace in recent years that some television stations have hired armed guards to ride with news crews.

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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.

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