A pair of television news crews were robbed at gunpoint while reporting on an overnight shooting at a pier in San Francisco. The incident happened just after 6 a.m. when three armed men ambushed a KNTV (Channel 11) news crew.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, KNTV cameraman Alan Waples was adjusting the lighting for reporter Kris Sanchez when one of the men pressed a gun to the photographer’s head. Waples was pistol-whipped by the attacker before the men made off with KNTV’s camera equipment, the Chronicle said.
Audio from the incident was broadcast live on KTVU’s (Channel 2) morning news program. Reporter Cara Liu was readying a live report from the pier when the attack happened.
“Hold on, hold on, wait,” she said before disappearing from the camera’s view.
Off-camera, KTVU’s photographer Keith Crook rushed to the aid of the assaulted KNTV crew. One of the attackers pointed a gun at Crook and made off with camera equipment from that station as well. KTVU managed to grab a partial image of the attacker.
The three men fled in a late-model BMW with no license plates, the Chronicle said. The incident was the latest involving television news crews being assaulted and robbed in the San Francisco Bay Area.
