Police are asking the public to help identify the individual
In a truly bizarre moment, a Fox News journalist is interrupted during a live report on gun violence by a man who appears to point a gun at the camera in Chicago, just a day after the tragic school shooting in Texas.
Capturing the footage mid-broadcast on Wednesday, May 25, Joanie Lum and her crew are discussing the subject of gun violence in their own city as a man walking by with what many believe to be a pistol in hand points it toward the cameraman before skipping off.
You can watch the moment the individual appears to pull a gun on live TV here:
The man’s identity is not yet known but he has been named a “person of interest” by local authorities, with police investigating Chicago’s River North neighbourhood where the Fox 32 broadcast was being filmed.
While many people are debating whether it was actually a firearm or not – with several suggesting it was a TV remote (specifically a Roku controller) – others have still slammed the gesture as highly inappropriate and insensitive given recent events.
It happened to @JoanieLum and her photog at 7:06am. The gun was one foot from her head as he pointed at the camera or cameraman Gary. She is understandably shaken. Thank God she is okay.
— ANITA PADILLA TV (@AnitaPadilla32) May 25, 2022
Moreover, in light of two mass shootings in the last two weeks, where 31 people have been killed – including 19 children – whatever the intent of the gesture, it seems deeply tactless and understandably triggering.
Lum was said to be left “understandably shaken” as neither she nor her cameraman, identified only as Gary, had enough time to clock what object the individual was actually holding. Nevertheless, given the aiming motion the man made, it would be a fair assumption for them to make that it was a firearm.
In the city of Chicago alone, while murders are down six per cent from last year, shootings have gone up 13 per cent and both rates are still higher than they were between 2018-2020.
Related links:
- Texas shooting: Surgeon shares powerful message after treating victims
- Husband of teacher killed in Texas school shooting dies after suffering heart attack
- Texas shooting: First responder learned of stepdaughter’s death while treating her best friend
