CNN correspondent reporting on San Francisco street crime falls victim to car break-in

A CNN correspondent in San Francisco to report on the city’s “rampant street crime” had her rental car broken into Friday — even with hired security tasked with watching the vehicle.

“Got robbed. Again,” Kyung Lah tweeted after the break-in with a picture of the car’s shattered rear-view window.

“We had security to watch our rental car + crew car. Thieves did this in under 4 seconds. This is ridiculous,” she wrote.

Lah said she and producer Jason Kravarik were at San Francisco’s City Hall when the thieves struck, stealing two bags from the car.

The CNN crew made the nearly 400-mile trip from Los Angeles to cover “voter discontent because of rampant street crime.”

“San Francisco is a beautiful city. This is our 3rd day here and I’ve loved my time here. But if you do visit this city, know that even with hired security watching your car, it is not enough,” the reporter said.

The progressive city has been experiencing surging crime, open-air drug dealing and robberies over the last few years, which led to the recall of soft-on-crime District Attorney Chesa Boudin last June.

Though overall crime has slightly decreased in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same timeframe last year, robberies continue to climb — there have been 525 reported robberies in San Francisco since Jan. 1, data shows.

In December, more than half of the city’s residents surveyed told the San Francisco Chronicle that they had been victims of theft or larceny, with illegal entry into automobiles accounting for a majority of the reports.

Lah lost her ID and passport in the robbery, which would have prevented her from flying home in any other circumstance.

“Bc so many people get their cars broken into and their bags stolen, @SouthwestAir was very used to my lack-of-ID problem and smoothly gave me my ticket after a brief security check,” she said.

Fortunately for the pair, the thieves ditched both their bags later Friday.

Restaurant owners found Kravarik’s bag after the burglars dumped it during an attempt to break into a patron’s car. His computer had been removed, however.