What started as an armed robbery at an Oakland jewelry store Monday ended with the store owner trading gunfire with suspects on city streets, and a resident ended up caught in the crossfire.
Charlie Mammoser, the owner of the store on Elwood Avenue, near Grand Avenue, said he buzzed in the suspects, and before he knew it, he had a gun to his head.
But Mammoser wasn’t about to let them get away. So he grabbed his own gun and chased them down the street.
"When they ran out the door, I ran after them," Mammoser said. "And they shot at me. So I shot at them. They got away, but I got most of my stuff back."
The bullet holes in the shop windows show the magnitude of the chaos. Mammoser said the robbers pointed a gun to his head and took a 100-pound bag of jewelry with them.
Police are still trying to determine how many total rounds were fired, but NBC Bay Area learned one of them ended up flying into a home and hitting a man inside. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Mammoser, who was still visibly shaken by the incident, said he thought he was doing what was best and probably would do the same again.
Local
Police urged against it, saying everyone got lucky Monday because no one was killed, including innocent people.
"We always put the word of caution that anything material can always be replaced," Oakland police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said. "To put yourself in harm’s way, we don’t want to see anyone injured or killed over property."
Police were still looking for the robbers. And they were still trying to determine whose bullet struck the innocent bystander.
