Czech TV journalists in San Francisco covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit were robbed at gunpoint, losing more than $18,000 worth of equipment and a day’s worth of footage.
ČT24 reporter Bohumil Vostal said three masked assailants with guns approached him and his crew around 5pm on Sunday and demanded their production equipment, driving away with cameras and other equipment.
“They went to my cameraman, pointed a gun at his stomach, and one at my head,” Vostal told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Following the theft, Vostal and his crew had to rush to Best Buy to buy new cables and lights — before also scrambling to find new material to record.
Police arrived within a minute of the 911 call, but just missed the thief leaving in a dark sedan, they said.
The Czech crew was among hundreds of international journalists in San Francisco for APEC, which had heavy security for attendees including President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Three masked men robbed a Czech journalist who was in San Francisco to cover the APEC summit. Bohumil Vostal
Vostal said city officials and “all the people of San Francisco” are deeply sorry for the robbery, which highlights the city’s underlying crime problem.
“Thank you very much for the support we received in ČT news,” he said tweeted. “We will continue to shoot. We are here for the US President’s summit with the Chinese leader. And we will be there (as usual) for CT.”
Bohumil Vostal and his crew were robbed of about $18,000 worth of equipment on Sunday. Bohumil Vostal/Instagram
San Francisco’s drug addicts, dealers and homeless residents who normally plague the downtown area appear to have been pushed to other parts of the city, sources told The Post over the weekend — as the entire area is fenced off for the summit, which begins Saturday.
Investigators from the San Francisco Police Department’s Robbery Unit are investigating Sunday’s theft.
Vostal (right) interviews San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday after his crew was robbed at gunpoint over the weekend. Office of San Francisco Mayor London Breed
London Mayor Breed’s office said the city was working to support Czech journalists. Breed also met with reporters on Monday to assure that their staff would help replace the stolen equipment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
