Heather Holmes: Oakland TV Reporter Robbed During Live Report About Robbery
Heather Holmes was doing a live report for KTVU in Oakland on a violent robbery when the reporter became part of her own story.
As Holmes was reporting, someone walked up to the unlocked news van parked just a few steps away and swiped her purse. Holmes didn’t know about the robbery until after she had finished the broadcast, but had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
As Heather Holmes noted, the brazen robbery took place right in front of a police station.
R u kidding me? Doing a live report at @oaklandpoliceca headquarters & my purse is stolen from the live truck! We were parked outside #OPD!!
— Heather Holmes (@hholmesktvu) June 17, 2014
Holmes added that by the time she was aware of the robbery, the thief had already sprung into action.
Oh the irony of it all…while reporting on violent mugging, my purse is stolen. Thieves used my bank card 20 mins after swiping my bag. — Heather Holmes (@hholmesktvu) June 17, 2014
The original story was about a woman who was beaten and robbed on the street near a number of poplar restaurants. She was ultimately saved by Good Samaritans who came to her aid.
Mark Sommer told KTVU, “The first thing I did was to shout as powerfully as I could… ‘No! Stop! Get Away!'”
Residents in the neighborhood said thieves have been targeting that area, but police have not been able to catch any of them in the act.
“Three to four times a day we’re seeing people casing cars and breaking in,” a resident told KTVU. “We’re calling it in to the police every time and they are stretched very thin and so they often aren’t able to show up for at least half an hour.”
Heather Holmes said afterward that she would be more careful.
Credit cards now canceled. Locks changed. Lesson here… be aware of your surroundings at all times, including at police headquarters.
— Heather Holmes (@hholmesktvu) June 17, 2014
But she also noted that the original victim had it much worse.
She was beaten about the face & head for her purse in #Temescal. @oaklandpoliceca responds & says it will increase patrols in the area.
— Heather Holmes (@hholmesktvu) June 17, 2014
Heather Holmes isn’t the only reporter to be robbed in the line of duty in Oakland. Every major news outlet in the Bay Area has actually been robbed in the past year and one photojournalist lost five cameras. Another cameraman was beaten and robbed during a live segment.
