D.C. news crew robbed story is currently making headlines as the tale showcases one of the most surprising twists of irony ever told in news. The Washington, D.C. news crew robbed story occurred when the film crew was making a story about a new app which supposedly helps people avoid sketchy neighbourhoods.
As it turns out, while they were covering the story on the new app, they were after burglars broke into their news van and stole valuable items inside.
According to The Inquisitr, the story of the D.C. news crew robbed occurred Friday night in northwest D.C. The area was a place which residents who were being interviewed by the crew for their story described as a good neighborhood.
In a report by the Business Insider, the app which indirectly led to the D.C. news crew robbed hadn't been specifically identified by the news crew. However, The Examiner pointed out that the new app shared several similarities with SketchFactor.
SketchFactor is reportedly a controversial app recently featured in many reports and has been described as a racist connotation.
The Examiner reports that many believe SketchFactor to be a racist app since it labels areas sketchy based on race or class. Therefore, though SketchFactor was not mentioned specifically in the story of the D.C. news crew robbed, many are presuming that app was used in the story covered by the D.C. news crew robbed.
The Inquisitr previously described the app as employing a rating system akin to Yelp. It also relies on user interaction in pointing out the location of "sketchy" areas, which in turn enables users to find alternate paths to avoid those areas.
Reports say that before the story of the D.C. news crew robbed began, the crew made sure they had locked their van doors while parked on a street in Petworth in Northwest, D.C. They were out conducting interviews in a neighbourhood apparently already identified by the app as "sketchy."
They probably should have heeded the app's warning.
According to CBS News today, after the D.C. news crew robbed story happened, the crew as shocked upon their return. They found their van burglarized, and the robbers stole quite expensive equipment. The robbers apparently found a way to pop the lock out of the news van's door.
Reports say that as D.C. news crew robbed happened, most of the crew's gear had been stolen. Amongst things stolen were several backpacks filled with electronic devices and cameras worth thousands of dollars, reports The Examiner.
WUSA9 reporter Mola Lenghi was one of the people in the crew covering the story of the app. She recalled the story of their D.C. news crew robbed.
Lenghi said, 'We were doing a story on an app that describes "sketchy" neighborhoods. It led us to the Petworth neighborhood of Northwest, and I'm not going to call it a "sketchy" neighborhood, but as folks were telling us that it was a good neighborhood, and that not much activity happens around there - as that was being told to us, our van was being robbed.'
She continued, 'We got back to the news van and noticed that the lock was popped out. Got in there, and noticed that all of our stuff was gone. I had a backpack full of electronics.'
Fortunately, one of the items stolen was a purse which had inside it a phone that the crew was able to track. The D.C. news crew robbed used the "Find my iPhone" app to track the purse and hopefully some of the other items stolen.
According to CBS News, the D.C. news crew robbed were able to track some of their goods to dumpsters in a nearby D.C. neighborhood.
Lenghi explained, 'Were doing a story on one app, and a different app ended up saving us.'
Meanwhile, according to The Inquisitr, SketchFactor has denied media claims that the app has a racial component. The developers said the navigation tool is for everyone and the racial profiling is only one of its mechanisms.
D.C. news crew robbed in the end was fortunately able to return to WUSA9's broadcast house unharmed. They were also able to get back some of their stolen items from the dumpsters.
Below is the report of the alleged SketchFactor story the crew was working as they were robbed.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
