Just after 6 p.m., police said in a statement that two suspects approached a cameraperson filming during an interview at 3:09 p.m. before trying to take the camera at gunpoint.
After a scuffle ensued, “the armed security officer pulled his firearm out, and directed the suspects to leave. The suspects immediately left the area without the camera,” and were still outstanding, police said.
Officers, including a police spokesperson, responded to the scene during an investigation. There were no injuries, police said.
“Please be advised that the suspects are still outstanding,” police said. “We encourage everyone to be vigilant of their surroundings and report all crimes. Please stay safe.”
Oakland, California Chief of Police Leronne Armstrong on big cities’ crime spiking as lawmakers defund the police.
A pair of robbers in Oakland, California, held up a television news crew at gunpoint just hours after the city’s police chief warned of safety concerns following officials decision to slash his department’s budget by more than $18 million, police said.
The news crew was filming an interview with the city’s director of violence prevention outside City Hall around 3 p.m. local time Monday when two armed suspects tried to take their camera, the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. A scuffle broke out and a private security guard, contracted by the news agency, pulled out his gun and told the robbers to leave.
Bay Area TV news crew held up in armed robbery attempt during interview
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong has warned of a recent spike in violent crime throughout the city, urging for more funding for the Police Department.
(Gabrielle Lurie/The San Francisco Chronicle)
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A TV interview of an Oakland violence prevention official was interrupted by violence on Monday when two armed suspects attempted to steal the crew’s camera and equipment.
The attack occurred outside City Hall amid spiking crime rates in Oakland, and less than three hours after the police chief blasted the City Council for cutting funds to the Police Department’s budget.
News Crew Held Up by Armed Robbers While Interviewing Oakland’s Chief of Violence Prevention
A television news crew in Oakland, California, was held up by armed robbers while interviewing the city’s director of violence prevention on steps of the City Hall, just hours after the police chief warned of a surge in crime amid law enforcement budget cuts.
The incident took place on Monday afternoon, when two suspects approached an NBC Bay Area news crew in an attempt to snatch the camera of the cameraperson filming the interview, the Oakland Police Department said in a statement to East bay Times.
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Alabama
Montgomery: Summer school teachers in Montgomery Public Schools are getting a bump in pay. The district has increased teacher wages from $25 to $50 an hour to get more teachers in the classrooms to handle an increase of students this summer, WSFA-TV reported. Superintendent Ann Roy Moore and the school board also are looking ahead to the upcoming school year. They’re planning to go back to face-to-face learning full-time. “We found that children don’t do as well virtually in most cases as they do face-to-face with a nurturing teacher in that environment,” Moore said. She said that virtual learning will be used on an as-needed basis.