During a routine broadcasting session, a filming crew encountered an armed robbery while reporting on an earlier robbery themselves.
Around 5 a.m. on a Monday morning, August 28, 2023, a reporter and photographer was accosted by three men in ski masks. The victims, filming a segment about the increase in robberies in West Town Chicago, encountered firsthand the rise in crime.
Allegedly, on North Milwaukee Avenue, block 1200, the three men arrived in two separate cars. Displaying guns the men at first demanded money from the TV crew before ransacking their van. According to the TV station, Univision Chicago TV, the camera that was used for filming was among the items stolen. Belongings such as a personal backpack, belonging to one of the members, and two more packs containing camera equipment are among the items stolen.
In reports to the police, the victims are identified as both men. With one, a 28-year-old, and the other 42 years old, both are unharmed.
Multiple heads of Broadcasting channels shared their respective statement. The Univision News’ vice president, Luis Godinez, clarified the reason behind not releasing the victims’ names is due to privacy.
A representative of TV photographers and president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 14, Raza Siddiqui, gave a warning about the increasingly dangerous conditions in covering the news.
We want to make sure that we provide a longer-lasting solution that we work not only with management but our members, and make sure that we read some protocols that everyone is happy with and feels can be a workable solution.
Unfortunately, due to the theft, the recording of their encounter can not be shown but similar situations of this nature have happened before.
Robberies During Live Broadcasting
This is the second case of news crew robberies in the past three weeks.
On August 8, one of the photographers with ABC News TV station, WLS-TV, was assaulted and robbed. Occurring on Chicago’s West Side, the victim was covering a nearby conference when they were assaulted. Reportedly the photographer only suffered minor scrapes and yet again did not have their name publicly released due to privacy.
After the Univision News incident, they reportedly did not want to put too much focus on their encounter. This was to keep the stories more about the community members’ plight. Recently residents of West Town have encountered more armed robberies.
One instance includes a brief frightening encounter captured on a Ring Doorbell camera. Close to midnight, the camera captured a young woman trying to flee from at least five people. In the camera, cars can be seen driving past as the young woman is surrounded. The assailants struck her with a weapon several times before stealing her belongings.
The fact that this occurred in so many families’ neighborhoods disheartened many residents, who left comments on the news saying:
What we’re seeing is our residents are being terrorized. It’s just not safe.
I’m scared for my family, my relatives, my friends. I worry.
I think we will consider moving, definitely, out of this neighborhood and elsewhere, the crime continues to pick up without response.
A recent estimate shows that crime in the area, including armed robberies and assault, has increased by 44% in just 12 months.
In all of the assaults mentioned, none have any suspects in custody.
Written by Brielle R. Buford
Sources:
Chicago Sun Times: Chicago TV news crew robbed at gunpoint while reporting on armed robberies
AP News: Chicago TV news crew robbed at gunpoint while reporting on a string of robberies
ABC7 News: Woman surrounded, struck by weapon in West Town armed robbery caught on video
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Chris Yarzab‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Inventorchris‘ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
