Gunfight at the Oakland bingo hall: Chaos ensues after robbery attempt

OAKLAND — It was just another night of fun at a local bingo hall, until two stickup men rolled up in a Volkswagen and the gunfire started.

By the end of the June 7 incident, one of the suspects was hospitalized with a bullet in his stomach, handcuffed to his bed with a transfer to county jail pending. The other robber had made a clean getaway, and the security guard who intervened in the attempted robbery barely avoided being shot, according to police.

It all started around 4 p.m. at a bingo hall on the 10700 block of MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, police say. A woman was walking back from a nearby store when two men pulled up and attempted to take her purse. An armed security guard pulled his gun, and one of the robbers pulled his, and the gunfight was on.

The security guard ducked behind cover, and the bullets meant for him ended up hitting a nearby car, authorities said. He returned fire and stuck a man, identified by police as 20-year-old Ivan Hebert, in the stomach.

Hebert got back in the car and took off, but they forgot about the embedded spikes in the parking lot, meant to ensure people don’t drive the wrong way. The Volkswagen’s four tires popped and the two men drove a short distance before abandoning the car at Shaw Street, authorities said.

Hebert managed to flee a short distance but was arrested at a tow lot nearby. With no car, a bullet in his stomach, and police closing in, he used his last few minutes of freedom to call his mom, police said.

Hebert was then transferred to Highland Hospital, but now rests at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, with bail set at $335,000, records show. He has been charged with attempted robbery, assault with a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a gun, ammunition, and a large capacity magazine.

The suspected driver, who ran off in a different direction, has not yet been identified, authorities said.

On Monday, Hebert pleaded not guilty. His next court date has been set for July.