A videographer was robbed at gunpoint of $30,000 worth of camera and lighting gear during a shoot in a park.
Part-time videographer Jacob Zlobinsky was robbed in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, California last Thursday as he was shooting a promo clip for a run club.
Zlobinsky was filming a video to promote an upcoming 5K run for “Bay Area Run Club” — a popular social group that he founded five months ago to help strangers connect through running.
According to a report by NBC Bay Area, Zlobinsky met with his younger brother in the early morning hours of October 17 to film the promo video for a Halloween-themed run.
Zlobinsky says that the two suspects wearing ski masks approached and pulled a gun on them. The suspects then robbed him of all of his video equipment.
“I had all my cameras out, my drone stuff, [and] my little behind-the-scenes camera,” Zlobinsky tells NBC Bay Area.
“Two guys pull up on us and one had a gun pointed at me basically saying, ‘I’m going to take all your stuff.’
“I’m not gonna chase guys with guns because that’s not smart, I don’t want to die.”
The thieves reportedly stole all of Zlobinsky’s camera and lighting gear as well as his drone, batteries, and external hard drives.
Zlobinsky has suffered at least $30,000 in losses in total, according to KRON 4 News.
‘This Honestly Sucks So Much’
Zlobinsky called Oakland police’s non-emergency line shortly after the robbery. But the videographer says police phone lines were tied up for hours that night and his non-emergency calls were not answered. He eventually filed a report with the police in person.
Although he has a police report, Zlobinsky says that his insurance does not cover the theft.
Zlobinsky has now launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help recover the costs of his stolen equipment.
“I don’t know what else to do because I know I won’t be able to replace it,” Zlobinsky writes in the video.
“They stole camera bodies, lenses, lighting equipment, a drone, and my electric generator. This honestly sucks so much.”
Zlobinsky says that he had saved up for his camera gear and works as a part-time videographer to financially support himself and his family.
PetaPixel previously reported on two men who are accused of trying to rob a TV cameraman while he was actively working on a story and using a cane to strike him with.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.