From CBS5 of April 23, 2008
Man Shoots and Wounds Suspected Burglar
A 51-year-old Oakland man shot and wounded a suspected burglar who was trying to break into the house he was renting in the 600 block of 59th Street about 8:15 a.m. today, according to Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren.
Holmgren said the suspect, 31-year-old Nathan Cooper of Oakland, was on parole for previous narcotics convictions and has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and violating his parole.
He said Cooper, who lives around the corner from the house where the shooting occurred, suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and was "touch and go" at one point but now is in stable condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
Holmgren said the man who was living at the house told police he heard noises from the rear of his house and when he went to investigate he saw the silhouette of a man who appeared to be holding a gun.
The resident told police that he feared for his life and fired two shots, according to Holmgren.
An initial investigation concluded that the 51-year-old man was justified in shooting Cooper and there are no plans to arrest him, Holmgren said.
Holmgren said the man, who lives along, was "a little bit shaken" up by the incident, which he described as "a traumatic experience."
The shooting today is the third time since last Thursday night that a resident or a merchant shot a suspect who was involved in criminal activity.
On Thursday night, a clerk at an Eighth Avenue market shot an 18-year-old Pittsburg man who was trying to rob the store with an accomplice.
On Saturday night, the owner of a 23rd Avenue liquor store shot a suspected robber after the man had shot him during a failed robbery.
Holmgren said it appears that Oakland residents and business owners "are tired of being infringed upon" by armed robbers and are taking matters into their own hands.
Holmgren said Oakland police "are always worried about the vigilante factor," but he said that in the three recent incidents the victims all appeared to be justified in shooting at the suspects.
"In these incidents, the criminals came to them and brought the crime to them," as opposed to cases in which people actively hunt down suspected criminals, Holmgren said.
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