Crime & Safety
Suspected Gas Station Shooter Charged With Attempted Murder
Police say he shot two people at the Arco AM/PM on April 16.
Photo: Edward Bessonov was arrested by Alameda Police last Thursday. Photo courtesy Alameda Police Department.
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ALAMEDA, CA - A 29-year-old Alameda man was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly shooting two gas station employees in Alameda earlier this month.
Edward Bessonov, who is being held in custody without bail, was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges today.
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He also faces two counts of assault with a firearm for the shooting at the Arco station at 1260 Park St. at about 11 p.m. on April 16.
Two employees at the station were wounded by gunfire and were taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland to be treated. They are expected to survive.
Find out what's happening in Alamedafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Police initially arrested a man who lives nearby and concluded he was the shooter based on witness accounts, but he was later released after investigators ruled him out as a suspect.
Alameda Police Officer Jarrod Suth wrote in a probable cause statement that Bessonov and one of the gas station employees got into an argument over money on the night of April 16.
Bessonov pulled a 9mm pistol out of his pocket and shot one victim in the chest and then shot into a vehicle at another victim, who was hit in the leg, Suth wrote.
Suth said Besonov "was positively identified as the responsible suspect from video surveillance footage."
Besonov was arrested in Alameda on Thursday morning after he allegedly acted erratically and evaded police.
Authorities said Bessonov was seen standing in the roadway yelling at people outside his Shoreline Drive apartment about 8 a.m. Thursday but he drove off before police arrived.
About 10 minutes later, he was involved in a possible road-rage incident at the Washington Park dog run area, where he was seen punching the window of another vehicle, according to Alameda police.
Officers tried to detain him there, but he drove off, police said. Officers pursued him to the 1000 block of Central Avenue, where he was arrested on suspicion of evading police after a brief standoff.
However, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office didn't file any charges against Bessonov for the incidents on Thursday.
--Bay City News
