(KRON) — Oakland police said the city has endured a spike in carjackings and armed robberies carried out by violent thieves this May. On Thursday afternoon, one would-be carjacking victim was able to disarm the assailant, and a gun-wielding bystander stepped in as backup.

The incident happened at 5:15 p.m. on East 23rd Street. A thief was armed with a “blunt object” and attempted to steal the victim’s car, police said.

Oakland Police Department Officer Darryl Rodgers wrote, “The victim was able to fend off the individual and disarm them, causing the individual to flee.”

A bystander stepped in to defend the victim and confront the assailant, police said. The bystander “engaged in a verbal altercation with the individual who attempted the carjacking. The altercation escalated.”

The bystander fired a gun at the assailant, and both people left the scene before police officers arrived.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the OPD Robbery Section at 510-238-3326.

The Oakland Interim Police Chief held a news conference earlier this week to talk about a surge in crime sprees.

Chief Darren Allison said, “We’ve seen a surge in violence. Two weeks ago, our city experienced 100 robberies in one week, 50 of which occurred in 72 hours over a weekend. Some of the robberies included car-jackings, shootings, and other assaults.”

“A trend we are seeing with robberies has been an increased involvement of minors,” Allison said. Three girls and six boys, all between 12-17 years old, were linked to 35 robberies.

Allison said the surge is “unacceptable,” and he ordered his officers to prioritize cracking down on young thieves responsible for it.