CNN decided to take a trip to Oakland, California, to report on the crime situation in that decaying and forgotten city, one which the flagship athletic team, the Oakland A’s, are moving out of for greener and less crime-filled pastures. While there, the criminals did their worst to the CNN team’s car, as could have been predicted.
The CNN Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah is the one whose rental car was broken into during the trip to Oakland. She posted a video of the aftermath on Twitter and captioned the video by saying, “I’m #Oakland, shooting a story about crime. Got broken into again— but this time our car was completely empty. We were across the street— this happened in seconds.”
Continuing her description of Oakland’s crime problem in a follow-up tweet that included yet another video, Lah said, “Even tho the car is empty, the thieves break in and lower the seat so they can steal anything in the trunk. Our trunk was empty. If you come to San Francisco or Oakland, do not leave a single thing in your car. Ours was thankfully empty.”
Watch the videos of the aftermath here:
Even tho the car is empty, the thieves break in and lower the seat so they can steal anything in the trunk. Our trunk was empty.
If you come to San Francisco or Oakland, do not leave a single thing in your car. Ours was thankfully empty pic.twitter.com/2oHrC56Wtj— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) August 2, 2023
Lah then noted in yet another follow-up tweet that this is the third time she has had a rental car broken into in the decaying, crime-ridden city. She said, “If you’re here keeping track, this is the 3rd time my CNN rented car has been broken into in the Bay Area in the last year. But I’ve finally learned to not leave even a candy bar in the car anymore (still doesn’t stop the car break in but at least we don’t lose anything).”
Ending the series of posts about the incident, Lah said that about 10% of rental cars are broken into in such a fashion: “At the rental car return lot, the employee tells us of the 250 cars returned yesterday, 27 had been broken into, just more than 10% of cars returned.”
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At the rental car return lot, the employee tells us of the 250 cars returned yesterday, 27 had been broken into, just more than 10% of cars returned
— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) August 2, 2023
Commenting on the incident, another individual there, Oakland native Seneca Scott, said, “I’m here doing PR for the @OaklandNAACP with @CNN and of course, they get bipped during the interview. Hate to say it, but it will help the story and end the bullshit “crimes down” lie that the soggies have been pushing to hide their failures. #GothamOakland”
Replying to Scott, people noted just how dangerous the city really is, even in broad daylight. One commenter, for example, said, “There’s almost nowhere in Oakland that I will walk by myself. Definitely not the hiking trails or parks.” Another commenter said, “What’s even more wild is that’s a very populated/trafficked part of Oakland. Literally steps from lake Merritt & they’re comfortable enough to do it in broad daylight.”
Fox 29 reported that the problem is, in fact, about as big of one as Lah’s incident and the comments by Oakland residents make it sound, saying, “Oakland has seen nearly 6,500 auto-related burglaries so far this year, a dramatic 25% increase compared to 2022’s numbers.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video