TV news crews robbed in S.F.; cameraman pistol-whipped

KTVU reporter Cara Liu reacts as news crews are attacked by a robber in San Francisco on July 2, 2015. Anchor Brian Flores is seen at left. KTVU reporter Cara Liu reacts as news crews are attacked by a robber in San Francisco on July 2, 2015. Anchor Brian Flores is seen at left. Photo: Screen Capture Photo: Screen Capture Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close TV news crews robbed in S.F.; cameraman pistol-whipped 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

News crews from two television stations were robbed of cameras Thursday morning, and a camera operator was pistol-whipped by a man in a ski mask, as they reported on a homicide at Pier 14 in San Francisco.

The mugging — the latest in the Bay Area to target television crews — happened at 6:03 a.m. at the pier along the Embarcadero and was captured in part on the air.

KTVU reporter Cara Liu was reporting live when someone ran up and stole camera equipment belonging to KNTV, which also had a crew on the scene. During the incident, KNTV camera operator Alan Waples was pistol-whipped.

A KTVU reporter and photographer were robbed at gunpoint this morning || http://t.co/cwrydsC69f || pic.twitter.com/KaXSwJo1Q0 — Jacob Wycoff (@4cast4you) July 2, 2015

KTVU anchor Brian Flores was introducing the story and preparing to go live to Liu when she appeared startled and said, “Hold on, hold on, wait,” before disappearing from the screen, as KNTV reporter Kris Sanchez and Waples, 54, were being robbed at gunpoint.

The assailant, one of three men who took part in the attack, came up behind Waples, who was was adjusting Sanchez’s lighting, and put a gun to his head.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Sanchez yelled.

Waples said, “Take the camera!”

He recalled later that he was waiting for the click of the gun.

“I thought he was going to kill Alan,” Sanchez said.

The man then threw Waples to the ground and hit him with the gun in the ear, causing a large gash and leaving a big bruise on his upper arm.

All of this unfolded quickly as KTVU was broadcasting live, although the incident wasn’t audible.

“Cara, you still there?” Flores asked.

“Sorry, there’s an incident out here,” she replied as she and KTVU photographer Keith Crook left to tend to the stricken KNTV crew.

“What’s going on out there, Cara, doing OK?” Flores asked.

When she didn’t respond, Flores told viewers, “OK, looks like there’s some type of incident going on with Cara Liu out there. Not exactly sure what is going on. ... Let’s try to get more information on what’s going on with Cara. Hopefully, she’s doing OK, first off.”

The robber stole a camera and tripod belonging to KNTV and struggled to put it in a black BMW, before hitting Waples one more time and telling Sanchez to get onto the ground, she said.

Off camera, the man pointed a gun at Crook, stole KTVU’s camera and tripod and fled, leaving behind an ammunition clip. KTVU managed to capture an image of the masked assailant.

“There's no time for anything to go through your mind,” Waples said. “When he was gone, it was a relief.”

Reporters and camera operators from KRON and KGO were also there but weren’t robbed. The crews were reporting on the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle, a 32-year-old San Francisco woman, at Pier 14 on Wednesday evening. A suspect in that shooting was arrested.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a police spokesman, said the timing of the robbery and its location on a major pedestrian thoroughfare made the investigation a high priority.

“These are very dangerous people,” he said. “And we need to get them off the street.”

The attackers were described as three males, all wearing dark clothing, with one who had dreadlocks driving a late-model BMW with upgraded rims and no license plates, police said.

The incident was the latest in which news crews were accosted by robbers in the Bay Area. The heists have prompted many stations to hire security guards to accompany crews, particularly for stories in Oakland. Many of the guards are former police officers.

The KTVU news crew has been victimized previously. Crook was attacked in February and robbed of a live transmission unit and a microphone while reporting from a Hayward doughnut shop on a story about the lottery.

Last August, Liu was hit in the head by a woman while working a story about the shooting death of a man by private security guards at an East Oakland swap meet.

San Francisco Chronicle

staff writer Kale Williams

contributed to this story.

Henry K. Lee and Hamed Aleaziz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com and haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee @haleaziz