A couple of attempted robbers and the owner of the taco truck they tried to stickup got in to a gun battle in a heavily-armed corner of Oakland late last night. According to the Chronicle, two men walked up to the Tacos el Mazatlan truck parked at the corner of Fruitvale Boulevard around 1:30 a.m., waving a gun and demanding cash from owner Omar Castillas. Castillas, who was cleaning up at the time, pulled out his own weapon and the two men opened fire on each other.
Both Castillas and the gunman were hit during the shootout. The gunman originally fled the scene, but was arrested when he turned up at the hospital seeking treatment. Both men's gunshot wounds were considered non-life threatening.
After other recent incidents of violence at Oakland taco trucks, Castillas apparently keeps a bulletproof vest with him at all times, which says a thing or two about the state of Fruitvale's late night street food scene. Last night's shooting follows the December 30th shooting of 5-year-old Gabriel Martinez Jr. - also at an area taco truck.
Oakland police told the Chronicle they've started beefing up their late night patrols and that they're aware of the taco-adjacent violence.
Meanwhile, CBS5 has the video report from the scene this morning:
