Texas man celebrating 21st birthday and friends robbed at Oakland gas station
OAKLAND, Calif. - A man from Texas celebrating his 21st birthday in the Bay Area was robbed as he and his friends stopped at an East Oakland gas station before their flight home.
"They take their luggage, then my son comes out, they pull a gun on him and hit him in the chest," said the man's father Victor Obevoen.
It happened at the 76 gas station at Hegenberger and Edgewater near Oakland International Airport on Monday afternoon.
Surveillance video shows an Infiniti G35 pulling up.
A guy gets out and breaks the back window of a Ford Explorer at the pump.
Inside the SUV are friends visiting from Texas, including Obevoen and Maxey Scherr's son. Others get out of the Infiniti.
"They kept the gun on him as they were taking the things off his wrist, they put their hands in his pocket and got everything in it, his wallet," Scherr said.
The thieves then sped off with their belongings.
The victims called Oakland police but didn't want to stay at the gas station. They went first to the San Leandro Police Department, then were told to contact Oakland police.
They had no idea many others had been similarly victimized while in rentals near the airport.
"To the naked eye, it doesn't look like a bad neighborhood. It looks like a well-kept gas station in a well-kept area - and had no idea. Now we know," Scherr said.
Obevoen said, "I just think it should not be normalized. People should not have to just live like this, you know, looking over their shoulders just to get gas."
Scherr is an attorney who's offering a $10,000 reward leading to those responsible.
"We're angry and we're furious about the fact that it happened," Scherr said. "It happened to our kid and to his friends, ad nobody seems to bat an eye."
Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid represents the area, plagued by both car burglaries and business closures. She says one arrest has been made.
"It's heartbreaking as a mother to hear about what her son experienced," Reid said. "Whether you're visiting, live here, work here or own a business in this corridor, we're doing everything that we can to increase the safety and security that they deserve."
Obevoen had this message for the robbers.
"They could really do better things in life. Create good, and not this sort of experience. And not represent their city in this manner," Obevoen said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan