Czech Journalists Robbed in San Francisco While Covering APEC Summit

Two foreign journalists from the Czech broadcaster CT24 who were on assignment in San Francisco to cover the APEC Summit were robbed at gunpoint on Sunday (November 12).

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said in a statement that three armed suspects got out of a car to demand production equipment from the victims - reporter Bohumil Vostal and cameraman Milan Nosek - before driving away.

Investigations are underway, the SFPD added.

Czech Journalists Robbed in San Francisco While Covering APEC Summit — CT24 journalists Bohumil Vostal (pictured) and Milan Nosek have been robbed of $18,000 worth of equipment and a day’s worth of footage by three armed men. Bohumil Vostal/Daily Mail

In an email to NBC News, Vostal confirmed that he and Nosek were approached by three armed suspects on Sunday after getting footage of the city. The equipment taken from the Czech journalists was worth $18,000, and they are looking to get their footage back.

The SFPD told local media they were investigating the incident. However, they would not confirm or verify if the Czech journalists were the victims as they could not identify victims or witnesses.

Beefing Up Security

San Francisco is hosting the APEC summit from November 11 to 17 this year, with US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping confirming their attendance at the meeting.

According to the city's Department of Emergency Management, San Francisco is expecting up to 20,000 visitors from over 20 countries for the summit. Ahead of the meeting, security and general clean-up of the city was conducted.

"We don't want anyone in San Francisco to be a victim of any crime, whether they are a visitor or a resident," the office of San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. "SFPD is actively investigating this case, and we know that when an arrest is made, our District Attorney has taken a strong position of aggressively prosecuting crimes like these."

The SFPD released details saying that the city saw a 13.7% in robberies from 2022. A little more than a third of respondents in a survey conducted by the city government this year also said they felt safe in the city day and night.