OAKLAND — In an effort to get leads to identify the suspects, Oakland police Wednesday released video surveillance and photos of the two suspects in an attempted armed robbery June 28 of a television news crew interviewing the city’s violence prevention chief.
The attempted robbery was foiled by the television crew’s armed security guard, and no one was injured, including Guillermo Cespedes, Chief of the Department of Violence Prevention.
The two suspects are described as Black, in their late teens to early 20s, both about 6 feet tall. One wore a red Nike hooded sweatshirt, black pants and white and black shoes. The other wore all dark clothing. Both had pandemic masks on and both were armed with handguns.
The attempted robbery happened about 3:05 p.m. June 28 in the 100 block of 14th Street near City Hall.
A television crew was interviewing Cespedes as part of a story about the police department’s budget when the two suspects approached them and demanded their camera at gunpoint, authorities said.
But after a scuffle the crew’s armed security guard pulled his gun and the suspects fled eastbound toward Clay Street without the camera.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrests of the suspects. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
Check back for updates.