A Czech TV crew covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco was robbed around 5 p.m. on Sunday, Fox News reported.
Czech TV crew robbed at APEC summit in San Francisco losing $18,000 worth equipment and a day’s footage
Journalist Bohumil Vostal described how he was filming City Lights Bookstore when three masked assailants with guns approached.
“They were heading at my camera man, aiming a gun at his stomach, and one at my head,” Vostal said.
According to officers, a vehicle pulled over on the street, and three armed men emerged, approaching the group and demanding their production equipment.
The news crew complied, allegedly losing equipment and footage valued at over $18,000 from a day spent in the Golden City. As per reports, the suspects returned to their vehicle and fled the scene.
KTVU FOX 2 reported that the San Francisco Police Department has confirmed an ongoing investigation into an armed robbery involving a production team in the vicinity of Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
Newsom’s San Francisco cleanup efforts under scrutiny as Czech journalists covering APEC face armed robbery
California Governor Gavin Newsom praised efforts to enhance safety in San Francisco ahead of the APEC Summit, which occurred just hours before the robbery.
The 21-member APEC group is holding its annual meeting in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be around 20,000 attendees, including Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping,
Newsom highlighted ongoing work to address safety concerns in the crime-affected city. He pointed out that robberies have increased by 13.7 percent year on year. As a result, there has been a decline in businesses within the downtown area.
“By definition, you have people over to your house, you’re going to clean up the house,” the Governor said.
“We have 21 world leaders; tens of thousands of people coming from all around the globe. What an opportunity to showcase the world’s most extraordinary place: San Francisco,” he added.
The central focus of this year’s summit is taking place on the sidelines—a meeting between Biden and Jinping. The two leaders have not met in person since November of the previous year during the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia.
Biden is anticipated to arrive for the conference on Tuesday. And following his meeting with Xi, he will hold a press conference the next day. The President is scheduled to leave San Francisco on Friday.
