An Oakland police officer suffered a gunshot wound early Wednesday morning after responding to reports about a person with a gun, and officers later arrested the suspect after an armed standoff, police said.
An ambulance rushed the officer to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where police said he was in stable condition. At a news conference livestreamed from the hospital, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said the officer is expected to survive.
An officer also returned gunfire and hit the suspect, who later fled into a building, Armstrong said.
“This is a difficult day for us,” Armstrong said. “But it’s a day we’re very fortunate that the officer is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Armstrong, calling the violence in the city “intolerable,” credited the department’s crisis intervention and mental health teams for bringing the incident to a relatively peaceful conclusion.
“This is a sober reminder of how dangerous it is in the city of Oakland,” he said.
According to police, a someone called them at about 6:30 a.m. to report a man had a gun at 21st Street and Telegraph Avenue. At some point shortly after they arrived, there was gunfire and one officer was hit, police said. Police returned fire, Armstrong said.
“The suspect was struck with gunfire,” he said.
Police said they recovered a gun from the scene. Armstrong said details on police firing back and hitting the suspect still were being investigated.
VIDEO: Chief LeRonne Armstrong speaks on Oakland Police shooting. CLICK HERE if you’re viewing on a mobile device.
The suspect subsequently ran from the shooting and barricaded himself with a knife inside a building in the 2100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, police said. Negotiators and members of the Oakland Police Department’s mental health team went to the scene and convinced the suspect to surrender at about 8:25 a.m., police said.
“We were able to create rapport with the suspect,” Armstrong said.
Police also recovered the knife.
Police said the suspect is 50 years old but did not identify him immediately. They also did not disclose what type of gun he had. Police said he had minor self-inflicted wounds from the knife.
The shooting came just two days after the city saw its 100th homicide of 2021, the second straight year the city has reached that grim milestone.
“Violence in the city continues to be intolerable,” Armstrong said. “Today, we were very fortunate nobody was fatally injured. I’m honored these officers put their lives on the line for this community.”
The city also has recorded four homicides since Saturday and seven in the past week. Armstrong pointed to the number of guns; the city has recovered approximately 850 of them this year.
“This says to me that there are a proliferation of firearms in the community,” he said. “It says they are more readily available and people are willing to use them on others. Unfortunately, (Wednesday) somebody chose to use one against a police officer.”
Please check back for updates.
