An Oakland security guard has died from a bullet wound he suffered after the retired cop was shot while he protected reporters at the scene of an armed robbery in the crime-ravaged Bay Area
Kevin Nishita, a father of two and grandfather of three, was on assignment to guard the KRON4 team as it was reporting on the latest smash-and-grab raid in California on Wednesday when a robber targeted the TV crew for their cameras.
Nishita, a former police officer, confronted one of 12 masked robbers to protect the reporters, and the thief shot him in the lower abdomen. He was rushed to Highland Hospital to undergo surgery, but died on Saturday morning.
KRON4, its parent company Nexstar Media Inc., Nishita's employer Star Protection Agency and the Oakland Police Department have issued a $32,500 reward for information on the suspects.
'We are devastated by the loss of security guard and our friend, Kevin Nishita,' KRON4's Vice President Jim Rose said in a statement. 'This senseless loss of life is due to yet another violent criminal act in the Bay Area.'
The death comes as the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and other cities across the country continue to face brazen robberies at the hands of organized flash mobs.
Kevin Nishita, a former police officer, was guarding the KRON4 news team when an armed thieve tried to take their cameras. The robber shot Nishita in the lower abdomen, and the officer was rushed to the Highland Hospital where he died on Saturday
The news team from KRON4 had been reporting on Wednesday on a robbery which had involved 12 armed thugs wearing masks and hoods targeting a Prime 356 clothing store in Oakland. Pictured: Police are seen arriving at the scene following the incident
The news team from KRON4 had been reporting on Wednesday on a robbery which had involved 12 armed thugs wearing masks and hoods targeting a Prime 356 clothing store in Oakland.
It is not uncommon for news teams to hire private security to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Police officers also later found an additional victim - a Berkley man who had been hit by shrapnel - who was also transported to hospital. He is in a stable condition.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office, where Nishita had previously served, escorted his body out of the hospital with full law enforcement honors.
'We mourn the loss of retired police officer Kevin Nishita who honorably served our Bay Area Community,' the office tweeted. 'He was protecting/guarding a local news crew when he was senselessly murdered.'
Nishita had also worked for the Hayward, San Jose and Colma Police Departments, as well as for the Oakland Housing Authority.
Will Tran, a KRON4 anchor, said the station was heartbroken to learn about Nishita's death. He had worked alongside reporters for many years.
'My heart is broken. I’m scared for me. I’m scared for my colleagues. Friends from all stations are talking to each other - our own support group. And then woke up to heartbreak. He was my friend. He was our friend and now he is gone,' Tran tweeted.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office, where Kevin Nishita had previously served, escorted his body out of the hospital with full law enforcement honors.
KRON4 News anchor Will Tran mourned Nishita's death as he was a friend of the station
Nishita's death is the latest development in a saga of recent crime plaguing the Golden State despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom's vow to crack down on the string of organized 'smash and grabs' happening across the state.
The governor on Monday pledged to provide 'exponential level of support' in the next state budget to help cities combat retail theft rings.
Newsom said his office met with retailers last week who asked for more police patrols.
'You will see substantially more starting today, in and around areas that are highly trafficked and coming into the holiday season Black Friday in shopping malls,' he said.
Yet despite the planning, roaming packs of thieves ransacked another luxury retailer in Los Angeles on Black Friday before descending on a Home Depot.
The Bottega Veneta store issued a statement saying it would limit the number of customers allowed inside its store
At the Home Deport, in Lakewood, eight people made their way into the home improvement chain and stole sledgehammers, wrenches and hammers, threatened customers
The Bottega Veneta store in LA's trendy Beverly Grove shopping district saw a large group enter the store at 5:21 p.m. and snatch pricey merchandise before one robber pepper-sprayed someone in the face, the LA Police Department reported.
At the Home Deport, in Lakewood, eight people made their way into the home improvement chain at 7:55 p.m. and stole sledgehammers, wrenches and hammers, threatened customers and then fled in 10 getaway cars.
The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department told CBS that the Home Deport robbery was especially worrying because the tools stolen could likely be used to rob more stores in the area.
Sheriff's deputies added that an entire section of sledge hammers was cleared out at the Home Depot, hammers similar to those that gangs of thieves have used to smash glass displays to nab jewelry and other high-end products, like iPhones.
Both the Home Depot and Bottega Veneta incidents are currently under investigation.
The gang of eight robbers fled the scene in 10 getaway cars on Black Friday
On Wednesday, four young men, believed by police to be between the ages of 14 and 18, entered and grabbed $20,000 worth of merch from a Santa Rosa Apple store before fleeing in what authorities called a 'brazen daytime burglary' in broad daylight.
A detective from the Santa Rosa Police Department said they weren’t notified about the theft until 10 minutes after it occurred due to an Apple in-house protocol.
In the last week, thieves have made off with tens of thousands of dollars in luxury goods, amid soft misdemeanor theft laws in the Democrat-run state.
Controversial state law Proposition 47 bars prosecutors from charging suspected shoplifters accused of stealing less than $950 worth of merchandise with felonies.
'People see the ability to commit these 'smash-and-grab incidents' knowing that there is little consequence, especially if the thefts are kept below the threshold of a felony offense,' Lynda Buel, president of Ohio-based security consulting firm SRMC, told CNN. 'It's easy, it's fast, and the payback is good.'
Police official blame the law for the recent string of thefts, which include 20 robbers smashing their way into a Nordstrom at The Grove retail complex in LA on Monday night, making off with $5,000 worth of merchandise; and a CVS pharmacy in the city was struck just an hour later, where looters stole $8,000 from a cash register.
Nine people have been charged in connection with robberies last week at Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Bloomingdale's in the downtown area and in Union Square, a posh shopping district popular with tourists that was teeming with holiday shoppers.
Ben Dugan, president of the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail, said: 'We're not talking about someone who needs money or needs food. These are people who go out and do this is for high profit, and for the thrill.'
Aside from the organized crime rings, the growing problem has been attributed to police officers' apparent reluctance to pursue retail criminals in the current political climate, prosecutors' failure to prioritize larceny and theft, and the decriminalization of low-level offenses in some jurisdictions.
Law enforcement also say that mercenary thieves are being recruited for up to $1,000 to steal the expensive goods which are then shipped across state lines and sold on the internet. The sophisticated method makes it harder for cops to track the criminals.
Best Buy CEO Corie Berry said this week that the situation has become so dire that her company is stepping up security measures to protect its staff and shoppers.
'This is traumatizing for our associates and is unacceptable,' Barry said on a call with analysts on Tuesday. 'We are doing everything we can to try to create [an] as safe as possible environment.'
Barry warned that employees could start quitting their jobs, rather than face the threat of hammer- and crowbar-wielding thieves terrorizing stores.
Police were able to pursue one of the getaway cars, which had fled onto the 110 Freeway
The robbery (not pictured) occurred at 7pm on the eve of Thanksgiving and left a security guard injured.
Last week, the San Francisco Bay Area saw a string of audacious 'smash-and-grab' robberies, including an incident involving a gaggle of hammer-wielding masked bandits who ransacked jewelry, sunglasses and clothing stores at the Southland Mall in the San Jose suburb of Hayward.
Dramatic footage released on Monday showed a group of about 40 to 50 robbers smashing glass display cases at Sam's Jewelers at the mall at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Staffers are seen screaming in terror as the heist unfolded.
Around the same time last Sunday evening, packs of thieves ransacked a sunglasses store and a Lululemon store in San Jose, stealing nearly $50,000 in merchandise, San Jose police Sgt. Christian Camarillo said Monday.
The group that targeted the Lululemon store included two women and two men, including one who had a 'visible gun in his waistband,' he added.
Last Saturday, police said as many as 80 suspects, some wearing ski masks and carrying crowbars, targeted a Nordstrom in the San Francisco suburb of Walnut Creek, assaulting employees and stealing merchandise before fleeing in waiting cars, police and witnesses said.
Two employees were assaulted and one was hit with pepper spray during what police called a 'clearly a planned event.' Walnut Creek police said they arrested two suspects and recovered a gun.
A day prior, roving bands of thieves brandishing hammers and crowbars hit a string of high-end retailers, including Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Bloomingdales, as well as a Walgreens pharmacy and several marijuana
