An Oakland police sergeant was defending himself when he shot and killed a man who targeted him just steps away from the plaza at City Hall, an officer with the police union said.
The deadly shooting was reported around 4 a.m. when officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation in the 300 block of Frank Ogawa Plaza. The attack on the officer, who was not in uniform, happened at 16th Street and San Pablo Avenue.
"The officer came to work, came out of his car and the suspect ambushed him," said Sgt. Barry Donelan with the Oakland Police Officers' Association.
Donelan said the gunman opened fire without warning as soon as the officer stepped out of a silver sedan. That is when the sergeant fired back, killing the suspect.
"Every Oakland police officer is breathing a collective sigh of relief that one of our own wasn't injured or worse today," Donelan said. "And he had the wits about him to address what was a criminal who just picked the wrong person."
Responding officers found a person suffering from at least one gunshot wound, and the person was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Officers also recovered a gun and multiple shell casings from different guns.
Donelan said the sergeant involved in the deadly shooting is an Oakland Police Department veteran with over 20 years of experience. The officer works at the City Hall building, where the department's internal affairs and recruiting units operate.
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Donelan believes the shooting highlights the state of crime in the city.
"I think it is illustrative of the level of crime both our residents and the police officers that protect them are facin on a day-to-day basis when right outside City Hall we have a suspect that is armed and brazen enough to just open fire on folks," he said.
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It is unclear if the suspect knew he was targeting a police officer.
The officer who opened fire on the person was uninjured, police said. That officer was placed on paid administrative leave per standard procedure in a police shooting.
The Oakland Police Department, Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, and the Community Police Review Agency, are investigating the shooting, police said.
