Chicago TV News Crew Robbed At Gunpoint While Reporting A String of Robberies in the Area

A television news crew in Chicago went out to report on a string of robberies in the Windy City, only to become the news story when they were robbed themselves.

According to The Associated Press, three armed men wearing ski masks robbed a television crew in the Illinois city. A reporter and photographer from the Spanish station Univision Chicago claimed that while trying to film a segment about robberies right before 5 a.m. on Monday, three men wearing masks robbed them in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. The men were armed with weapons and took the crew’s television camera and other items.

The footage that was filmed was supposed to air later that morning.

The victims were not identified publicly by Chicago police but were described as 28-year-old and 42-year-old men. Police officials stated that the men were standing outside when the three robbers pulled up in a gray sedan and black SUV. After taking the news crew’s equipment and other items, they fled in their vehicles.

“They were approached with guns and robbed,” Luis Godinez, vice president of news at Univision Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune. “Mainly, it was personal items, and they took a camera.”

Godinez assured the media outlet that both were not harmed in the incident.

“They’re OK, and we’re working on it together as a team, he said.

It was the second time a news crew had been robbed in Chicago this month. A photographer from WLS-TV was assaulted and robbed on Aug. 8. He had been getting ready to cover a weekday afternoon news conference on Chicago’s West Side, the station reported.

The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 41, which represents TV photographers in Chicago, put out a statement regarding the two recent incidents.

“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, said.

He also said that the union is trying to take precautions to find out what it can do to support its members.