Wedding photographer fights off armed attackers to save couple's photos in San Francisco
The attack was one of two separate robbery attempts of photographers at the same location on the same day
SAN FRANCISCO -- A wedding photographer fought off a brazen daytime attack by two armed men in San Francisco to save the filmed memories of his clients.
The attack happened right in front of the horrified bride and groom.
And it was one of two separate assaults on photographers on the same day at the same location - San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts.
Both incidents were caught on video.
One photographer from Dallas, who requested anonymity for his safety, says he flew into San Francisco for the day to take a couple's engagement photos the afternoon of Nov. 9.
In video taken by an eyewitness, two masked and armed men suddenly approach the photographer, right in front of the bride and groom.
The would-be victim, a new father who acknowledges he wasn't thinking carefully about the potential consequences, successfully wrestles his camera bag back out of the suspects' hands.
At one point, he was even pistol-whipped during the incident.
He spoke exclusively to our sister station KGO-TV in San Francisco to describe the harrowing experience.
"I was just freaked out. I tried to protect the client's memories. The bride was crying the whole time," he said.
He says he'll never work at the Palace of Fine Arts again and encourages couples to no longer hold photo shoots there.
Earlier in the day, a photographer from the Bay Area witnessed another photographer being robbed at gunpoint outside the Palace of Fine Arts. In the video he recorded, you can see a suspect run away with a gear bag.
Both incidents were reported to the San Francisco Police Department but authorities have not reported any additional details.
