OAKLAND — One man was killed and the former head of Oakland police’s Ceasefire anti-violence initiative was wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon at a West Oakland gas station, authorities said.
The shooting happened just after 1 p.m. near one of the gas pumps at a Chevron station at 1700 Castro St., with officers initially responding to a ShotSpotter activation, according to a police statement Thursday night.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was withheld pending confirmation of next-of-kin notification. The other man who was shot suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital, police said.
Law enforcement sources who spoke to this news organization confirmed the wounded victim was Ersie Joyner III, who led the police department’s Ceasefire anti-violence initiative from 2013 until his retirement as a captain in 2019. That initiative worked to contact residents vulnerable to crime and violence and provide services.
At a press conference Thursday evening outside Highland Hospital, Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong described the wounded victim as a retired former police officer “lawfully able to carry a firearm” who was in stable but serious condition after the shooting. Armstrong declined to confirm that that person was Joyner, citing a family request.
Armstrong did confirm that the person was pumping gas at the station when “he was approached by several individuals that began to rob him of his belongings. During the robbery at some point, shots were fired, and both victims sustained gunshot wounds.” Investigators were seeking a black four-door sedan seen leaving the scene, but Armstrong declined to identify a make or model. No arrests were announced.
Of surveillance video taken at the scene and shared publicly by at least one other news outlet, Armstrong said “when it’s appropriate to release that surveillance video, we will release that video, not at this time but we are obviously looking for those responsible for this and that video is key to our investigation.
“The video is very clear, high-quality video. We clearly see this incident unfold. We obviously see the unfortunate incident that occurred. We also see the things that happened prior to the actual robbery, so we know that they intended to focus on the victim in this case. I think the video was being very clear and very helpful.”
Surveillance I obtained shows Joyner pumping gas when he is approached by 3 men.
Struggle ensues. Joyner pulls firearm.
Freezing video here because it is so graphic. But I see Joyner get shot at least 6 times. One robber is dead on the ground. #oakland pic.twitter.com/8xwM3hMunB
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) October 22, 2021
Numerous city streets as well as on- and off-ramps to Interstate 980 remained blocked off into Thursday evening while the investigation was being conducted.
Joyner, who currently works as a consultant in the marijuana industry, drawing on experience combating narcotics, fraud and human trafficking, took pains to differentiate between Ceasefire’s focus and other more punitive approaches after a May 2019 warrant search: “Understand that accepting services doesn’t dictate whether people do investigations. Some contacted don’t engage in violence, but those who continue to engage? As promised, we hold them accountable.”
The death is the 115th this year that Oakland police are investigating as a homicide, following a separate fatal shooting Wednesday night in West Oakland. Last year the city finished with 109 total homicides, well below its 1992 peak of 175 homicides.
