Kevin Nishita was working security Wednesday afternoon for a news crew covering a story in downtown Oakland when someone attempted to rob the squad and Nishita was shot, according to Oakland Police.

San Francisco news station KRON4 said Nishita was working on security for one of her crews.

“We are devastated by the loss of the security guard and our friend, Kevin Nishita. Our deepest condolences go to Kevin’s wife, children, family and all of his friends and colleagues.

“This senseless loss of life is due to another violent criminal act in the Bay Area. We hope that offering a reward will help arrest those responsible so that they can be brought to justice for this terrible tragedy.” said the vice president and general of KRON4. Director Jim Rose said in an emailed statement to CNN.

In a Twitter post on Saturday, Oakland Police say a reward of $ 27,500 for information leading to an arrest in the case has been raised to $ 32,500

Oakland Police also released a surveillance photo on Saturday of a vehicle they believe was involved in the attempted robbery and murder of Nishita, a 2004-2008 Acura TL, white, 4-door, with sunroof and without front license plate.

The San José Police Department stated that Nishita was an officer in the department from 2001 to 2012 and that the police department in the nearby town of Colma, Calif., said that Nishita joined forces in 2012. He worked as a detective and training officer on the field before being promoted to sergeant in 2015 and he retired from the department in 2018, according to a statement from the Colma Police Department.

Oakland Police said on Wednesday the guard was taken to hospital after the shooting, which took place around noon.

He said the attack followed “an extremely violent week” and that numbers would be increased to respond to violent crimes in the city.

“Last weekend, the city of Oakland was inundated with armed touring caravans that targeted dozens of businesses, including pharmacies, retail stores and a host of cannabis-related operations,” said a police statement.

“Individuals in the trailers are heavily armed and exchanged gunfire with armed security employed by some of the cannabis companies. Individuals in the trailers also fired several bullets at OPD agents responding to a burglary in class early Monday morning. ”

CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.