Univision news crew gets robbed at gunpoint in Chicago while reporting on spike in robberies

A TV news crew from Univision was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago on Monday while reporting on the city's increase in robberies, an ironic incident that left the crew "rattled."

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a reporter and photographer were getting ready to do a live shot when three armed men wearing ski masks pulled up to them in a black SUV and a gray sedan. The suspects demanded money from the crew before fleeing the scene after stealing two bags of equipment, which included the network's camera and the photographer's backpack.

The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Monday in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

The reporter at the scene, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and the cameraman were "rattled" by the attack but are doing okay, according to Book Club Chicago.

"As a journalist, you never want to be the story, right? You're reporting on the story but you never think that you can become the story," he said, calling the incident "total irony."

"I guess it's another reminder of how important it is to keep doing these stories and to keep pressure on our local authorities to try to prevent more events like that," he added. "This could happen to anybody. So it's an eye opener, for anyone that works in news that this could happen. It happened to me early in the morning, but I think it could literally happen any time of day."

Chicago Police have not yet made any arrests in connection with the incident. A spokesperson within the department confirmed to CWB Chicago that the robbery victims were two men, aged 28 and 42.

Luis Godinez, Vice President of Univision, confirmed on Monday that two of their employees had been robbed and that they are currently safe. He revealed that Chicago detectives are investigating the incident.

This incident is among at least 164 other reported robberies that have occurred in the Wicker Park, West Town and Logan Square areas since the start of 2023. At least 30 people were robbed or carjacked in the area between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, the outlet reports.

According to Chicago PD, a woman was carjacked on the same block just hours before the Univision TV crew had been robbed, per CWB.