Robbers target film crews in Oakland, San Francisco, Emeryville

Robbers have targeted four film crews over the past week in San Francisco, Oakland and Emeryville.

The string of robberies and attempted thefts have heightened concern among Bay Area television news crews and independent filmmakers and occurred days after 71-year-old Edward French was shot and killed during a robbery of his camera Sunday at San Francisco’s Twin Peaks.

Over the weekend, an independent film crew was robbed of its gear in West Oakland, near 11th and Wood streets, according to police. The suspects apparently fled in a car.

On Monday night, four members filming a reality show were robbed at gunpoint of $50,000 worth of equipment and personal items near 19th and Harrison streets.

On Wednesday morning in the Target parking lot on 40th Street in Emeryville, a man broke a window of a KNTV news van and tried to open the door but was scared off by the photographer who was in the back of the van, according to an email to KTVU employees from news director Amber Eikel.

Also on Wednesday, a van belonging to a NBC national news crew was broken into and gear was taken on Oak Street in San Francisco, Eikel wrote. With the help of a neighbor’s video of the break in, police found some of the gear at a nearby Chinese food restaurant.

Following dozens of similar robberies in recent years, many local TV stations send guards with reporters working in Oakland.

“As always, your safety is our number one priority,” Eikel wrote. “Unfortunately, it appears two of the these crews were unaware of the issues in this region. But it’s still a good reminder to always be on alert and communicate with the newsroom any time you feel unsafe or need a guard.”

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