Another laptop robbery in Oakland turned violent Friday night when the victim was shot as he waited at a bus stop.
Police responded around 9:24 p.m. after a neighbor Brian Veivia, who happens to be a former paramedic, ran to the bus stop and found the victim on the ground.
Veivia said he heard a gunshot, grabbed his paramedic bag and sprinted to the bus stop to help the victim, who was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher describing what happened.
“It was basically like a dime or a nickel-sized wound right on his hip,” Veivia said.
The 21-year-old victim is expected to be okay.
“Someone had come up in a mask, asked for his laptop,” Veivia said. “He actually said he was on his laptop and somebody asked for it. I think he said he refused, and the guy shot him.”
This laptop robbery comes just a little over a week after Oakland resident Shuo Zeng was killed when robbers stole his laptop at a Starbucks in the Montclaire neighborhood.
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Police said Zeng was killed when he chased after the suspects and got hit by their getaway car. Two men have been arrested in connection with that case.
Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb said he wants to see more police on the streets to help deter a recent spike in violent street crime.
“We have a vacancy rate that’s twice as much as what it should be right now at OPD,” he said. “And the only way to fill vacancies is to have more police academies. So I’m going to push this spring to add more police academies to our budget.”
Veivia said he’s concerned about the recent violence in his neighborhood — there have been several shootings and a stabbing in the area recently. He said he doesn’t stay out much after the sun goes down, and wonders what might happen if someone tried to steal something from him.
“You would hate to think what your first reaction is,” he said. “You may not even think at the time and you grab it and refuse to give it up. And in that moment it could cost you your life.”
