In a disturbing manifestation of the escalating crime rates in Democrat-governed San Francisco, journalists from the Czech Republic became the latest casualties of the city's rampant lawlessness.
The victims, members of a Czech public television crew, were filming near the renowned City Lights bookstore on Sunday evening when they were confronted by armed criminals, as reported by KTVU.
The San Francisco Police Department disclosed that the incident transpired at 4:56 p.m. in the vicinity of Broadway and Columbus Avenue. Three armed men alighted from a vehicle and demanded the journalists' production equipment. The victims, under threat, acquiesced.
Although the San Francisco Police Department has not officially confirmed the victims' identities as journalists, Bohumil Vostal, a correspondent for the Czech television station ?T24, identified himself as one of the robbed individuals.
In a social media statement, Vostal expressed gratitude for the support received and reiterated the team's commitment to continue their coverage of the summit, which includes the anticipated meeting between Joe Biden and communist Xi Jinping.
FOX News reported:
"Journalist Bohumil Vostal told the San Francisco Chronicle he was capturing a shot of City Lights Bookstore 'when three masked assailants approached with guns pointed.'"
"They were heading at my cameraman, aiming a gun at his stomach, and one at my head," Vostal said. He added the incident occurred around 5 p.m. Sunday.
The San Francisco Police Department confirmed to KTVU FOX 2 that it is investigating an armed robbery of a production team in the area of Broadway and Columbus Avenue.
Officers informed the media outlet that a vehicle halted on the street, three armed men exited the car and approached the group before demanding their production equipment. The news crew complied, reportedly losing over $18,000 worth of equipment and footage from a day exploring the Golden City.
The suspects then reentered their vehicle and fled.
The robbery starkly exemplifies the normalization of such violence in San Francisco, where local stations have found it necessary to employ armed guards to accompany their reporters, a measure that was unheard of in years past and now underscores the deteriorating security situation that locals and visitors alike are compelled to navigate.
As previously reported by The Gateway Pundit, China's communist dictator Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit San Francisco this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The city, infamous for its homeless encampments and street-level drug problems due to the Democrats, has somehow managed to remove the homeless and clean up the streets.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a press conference on Thursday, conceded that the clean-up was indeed intended to appease "fancy leaders" visiting for the summit.
"I know folks say, 'Oh, they're just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town.' That's true because it's true," Newsom admitted.
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