*As a Chicago television news crew reported on a string of robberies in the city this week, they were accosted at gunpoint by three armed men wearing ski masks.
A reporter and photographer for Spanish-language station Univision Chicago was filming early Monday morning in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood when the film crew was robbed of their camera and other items, Wisconsin State Journal reports.
“They were approached with guns and robbed. Mainly it was personal items, and they took a camera,” Luis Godinez, vice president of news at Univision Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune.
According to Godinez, the crew was filming a story about robberies in the community. The stolen camera contained the footage they shot, and the story was never broadcast for the morning news.
Police said the three thieves pulled up on the news crew in a gray sedan and black SUV. After the robbery, they fled in their vehicles.
Yet ANOTHER robbery was caught on video last night.
They hit the woman, order her to stop screaming. Then demand her PIN while pointing a gun at her face.
Don’t worry. The Chicago Police Department won’t do anything risky like chasing these guys.#Chicago pic.twitter.com/bXixPfYes8
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) August 28, 2023
“The offenders then took the victims’ belongings before returning to the vehicles and fleeing southbound,” Chicago police spokesperson Kellie Bartoli told USA TODAY.
The victims, a 28-year-old man and a 42-year-old man, were not injured. In order to protect their privacy, TelevisaUnivision is not disclosing their names.
“Gratefully, the crew is safe,” Luis Godinez, local VP of News for Univision Chicago, told USA TODAY Tuesday.
The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 41, which represents TV photographers in Chicago, issued a warning about growing safety concerns.
“Our news photographers and reporters provide a very important public service in keeping our community informed. We are committed to making sure that their safety comes first,” Raza Siddiqui, president of the union local, said in a statement.
Bartoli said no arrests had yet been made in the case, which is still under investigation.
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