Just after doing a live shot yesterday outside the Oakland Technical High School on Broadway, for a report on the passage of Prop 30, KPIX/CBS5 cameraman Gregg Welk and reporter Anne Makovec were descended upon by "an unknown number of men" who punched Welk and stole his camera.
KPIX released a statement about the incident today, and the assailants, who have not been found, fled in a car. Welk suffered minor injuries, and Makovec was uninjured.
Oakland North notes that the high school had nothing to do with the incident.
Apparently, criminals have figured out that there's some significant street value to this kind of equipment, and there have been multiple incidents involving reporters, including those at KTVU and KNTV, being robbed in Oakland while on assignment.
Shit gets real over there. And not in a good way, sometimes.
[CBS5 via Oakland North]