A documentary crew says they were filming a scene in San Francisco Wednesday, when they said their cars were broken into and thieves stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Emma Goss reports.
A documentary crew says they were filming a scene in San Francisco Wednesday, when they said their cars were broken into and thieves stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
The incident happened in broad daylight at the top of Lombard Street.
Eli Steele and Terrell Allen, the two independent filmmakers told NBC Bay Area that they tried calling 911 to report the smash-and-grab. But they were disconnected multiple times.
“We were parked behind that red truck,” said Steele.
Just after 11 a.m., Steele and his team stepped away from his rental SUV for just 10 minutes to film a scene. They returned to find his car window smashed and his camera equipment stolen.
“We lost $30,000. So, it's a big hit,” he said.
Minutes later, Allen said he saw people trying to break into another car.
“I run over there say ‘Hey what are you doing? Stop stop!’” Allen said. “Pulls a gun on me. Of course, I stop. They moved three cars down. They didn’t go a block. They didn't keep going, they didn't leave. They literally went three cars down.”
NBC Bay Area reached out to San Francisco police for comment Wednesday. They released the following statement Thursday.
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"On 06/14/23 a victim went to Central Station to report that his vehicle had been burglarized in the area of Hyde Street and Lombard Street at approximately 1100 hours. Officers took a report of this incident. No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD."
No arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.
Emma Goss has more in the video above.
