Ex-Oakland police captain reportedly shot in gas station robbery attempt

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Retired Oakland police captain and former Ceasefire head Ersie Joyner reportedly is hospitalized following a Thursday afternoon shooting at a gas station.

The San Francisco Chronicle, citing two law enforcement sources familiar with the situation, reported that Joyner was found at a West Oakland gas station "littered with bullet casings" just after 1 p.m.

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The Oakland Police Department told KCBS Radio after this story was initially published that officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation on the 1700 block of Castro Street just after 1 p.m.

Officers found two victims on the scene, one of whom was eventually hospitalized nearby and another who was dead. The statement didn't name either victim, and police are waiting to inform the dead victim's next of kin before naming them.

In a briefing at Highland Hospital, where Joyner reportedly was hospitalized, Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong didn't name either victim. Armstrong said the hospitalized victim, a former police officer who could legally carry a firearm, was in "stable" but "serious" condition following surgery after sustaining "multiple gunshot wounds."

Armstrong later said the victim's family requested to "not release his identity at this time." The other victim's death is the city's 115th homicide, according to Armstrong.

The hospitalized victim was robbed by "three individuals" while he was filling up his car with gas, Armstrong told reporters. Shots were fired "at some point," and Armstrong said the dead victim also sustained gunshot wounds, dying of his injuries before police arrived.

Police are looking for a black sedan, which some of the suspects fled in, but Armstrong said the department wouldn't release more details of the car. He wasn't aware of any other reports involving the car on Thursday.

Oakland police officers block off gas station where a former officer was shot on Thursday afternoon.
Oakland police officers block off gas station where a former officer was shot on Thursday afternoon. Photo credit Alice Wertz/KCBS Radio

The Chronicle reviewed security footage in which three people approached Joyner "in an apparent robbery attempt." Using a handgun he was carrying, Joyner then "fired multiple shots at his assailants at close range."

Armstrong didn't confirm to reporters whether the hospitalized victim was armed or if he had fired a gun. He said police knew "he is lawfully able to carry a firearm."

Joyner appeared shot on the footage, according to the outlet, and he took cover behind a gas pump as at least one of his assailants drove away in a dark-colored sedan. Another one of the assailants tried to lift a man who fell near the gas pump before fleeing.

"We know that they intended to focus on the victim in this case, and I think the video has been very clear and very helpful for us in this investigation so far," Armstrong said of surveillance footage the dpeartment obtained.

Up until his retirement in 2019, Joyner had led Oakland's anti-violence Ceasefire program since 2013, overseeing its expansion. Joyner currently works in the cannabis industry and owns dispensaries in Oakland and San Francisco, according to the Chronicle.

Armstrong said police didn't have reason to believe "at this time" that Joyner was targeted based upon his current or previous work, adding that officers were "looking at every motive."

"Nothing's off the table at this point," he told reporters. "We'll be looking into everything."

Neither Mayor Libby Schaaf nor former police chief Howard Jordan responded to KCBS Radio's requests for comment. This story will be updated when we hear back.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Alice Wertz/Getty Images