Key takeaways:
- The attack was reported just before 4:30 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive outside the Adler Planetarium.
- Chicago police said one man directed a dog to attack a victim, but the dog did not engage; no injuries were reported.
- Three suspects were arrested after a pursuit ended near West 36th Street and South California Avenue, and police recovered a gun from the tow truck, according to CBS Chicago.
A CBS Chicago reporter and photographer were attacked Monday afternoon while preparing for a live newscast near the Adler Planetarium, an incident police are investigating after suspects allegedly fled in a white tow truck and were later arrested following a pursuit.
The attack was reported just before 4:30 p.m. in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive, outside the planetarium. CBS Chicago said its crew was preparing to go on the air during the 4 p.m. newscast when three men in a white tow truck approached and parked directly in front of the news van.
Two witnesses visiting Chicago told CBS Chicago they saw the confrontation unfold.
“They just were trying to do anything they could to scare them unnecessarily. It came out of nowhere,” one witness said.
According to CBS Chicago, the crew and witnesses said a white or Hispanic man with a dog got out of the tow truck first and moved aggressively toward the journalists while shouting racial slurs at one of them. NBC News reported that two men rushed toward the crew while shouting racial slurs at one journalist.
“It started racial with the cameraman because he’s an African American male,” a witness told CBS Chicago.
Chicago police said one man directed the dog to attack a victim, but the dog did not engage. A witness said the animal appeared to be used to intimidate the crew.
“I think he was trying to, again, intimidate him, make him scared by having the dog approach first,” the witness said.
CBS Chicago reported that when one crew member defended himself from the dog, the other two men in the tow truck got out. One man smashed the photographer’s camera, while another damaged the windshield of the CBS news van with a traffic cone before the suspects left the scene.
“They were saying, ‘Leave the dog alone,’ and I just feel like maybe the scene got more chaotic than they were expecting, and I feel like the only thing they thought to do was to just cause as much damage as they could and leave,” a witness told CBS Chicago.
NBC Chicago video from the scene showed camera equipment on the ground surrounded by police tape and heavy damage to the van’s front windshield, NBC News reported.
No injuries were reported. CBS Chicago said the reporter and photographer got away unharmed.
About 20 minutes after the attack, Chicago police received reports involving the same tow truck near 42nd Street and Western Avenue in Brighton Park, CBS Chicago reported. Police said the occupants were pointing a gun at people on the sidewalk. When officers caught up to the truck, the driver sped off, according to CBS Chicago.
Alderwoman Julia Ramirez of Chicago’s 12th Ward said officers arrested three suspects after a pursuit ended at West 36th Street and South California Avenue, NBC News reported. CBS Chicago said the three occupants jumped out after crashing into a squad car, and police recovered a gun from the tow truck. Police said the gun was not pointed at the CBS crew.
“We didn’t see any guns in that moment, but to know that it escalated to that or could of been that is just terrifying,” a witness told CBS Chicago.
CBS said in a statement, “We are shocked and horrified by this crime and we are grateful that our journalists are safe.”
Area Three detectives are investigating. CBS Chicago reported that charges were pending as of Monday night.
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