Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- December 3, 2021
- Location
- Oakland, California
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
An unidentified San Francisco Chronicle photographer was robbed at gunpoint in West Oakland, California, on Dec. 3, 2021.
The Chronicle reported that the photographer was on assignment when multiple armed assailants stole two cameras before fleeing in a vehicle. An Oakland Police Department spokesperson said in a statement that the robbery was reported just before 3:30pm. Police officials also said the photographer was not injured during the incident. OPD did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
“Any incident in which a person is robbed of their possessions at gunpoint is incredibly troubling,” Chronicle Editor in Chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz said in a statement following the incident. “We are relieved that our colleague was not physically injured. We are a part of this community, and we will not retreat from providing the news and information it needs.”
This incident follows multiple other armed robberies involving news organizations in the Bay Area this year.
Most recently, on Nov. 24, a security guard hired for a KRON-TV news crew in Oakland was fatally shot during an attempted armed robbery. Kevin Nishita was killed after confronting an assailant who tried to steal the crew’s camera equipment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].