A San Francisco area reporter was robbed at gunpoint on Wednesday while covering a spree of car burglaries.
Don Ford, a journalist for KPIX 5, was approached by four men, one of whom pointed a firearm at his face while he was interviewing local homeowners about the spike in crime. The thieves made off with Ford’s camera and left him unscathed.
The San Francisco Police Department later apprehended an adult male believed to be connected to the robbery, though officers could not immediately identify him, police told the Washington Examiner. While the camera and related equipment were recovered during the arrest, authorities are still searching for the other people.
“The car came up here while we were about to do an interview. Three guys jumped out,” the reporter said. “One had a gun and put it in my face and said, ‘We’re taking the camera.’”
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“My whole thought at the moment was, “Be calm,'” he continued. “‘Let’s not get this guy excited. He’s got the gun. I don’t. So you take you the camera. It’s yours, buddy.’”
A homeowner who witnessed the incident was alarmed at how “brazen” the event was.
“I was worried that this what’s gonna happen because as thieves get more and more brazen, they do more and more brazenly things,” the resident, who was not identified by name, said. “I’m not making that up. We just had that experience today.”
Auto thefts for the month of January were up in all but three of the city’s 11 law enforcement districts. The thefts rose 63% in Bayview, 49% in Ingleside, and 45% in Mission compared to the same time frame last year, according to crime statistics from the San Francisco Police Department. February’s report was not available at the time of publishing.
General burglaries also saw a substantial rise, and all but one district reported increases. Richmond saw a 291% uptick, Park experienced a 100% increase, and Northern was hit with a 95% jump in the crimes.
Shoplifting has also grown to be a mounting concern in the Golden State city as Walgreens announced it would be shutting the doors of 10 stores in the area as residents raised the alarm about the thefts.
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“All of us knew it was coming. Whenever we go in there, they always have problems with shoplifters, ” a regular customer, Sebastian Luke, said.
One October incident was caught on video as Inside Edition reporters were following a story on the rampant larcenies. A thief, donning black clothing, was seen on video scaling a counter, grabbing an air vent, and leaving the store on a scooter as shelves in the store were left bare from similar sprees.
