Chicago news crew attacked while setting up for live shot

Three people are in custody after a CBS News Chicago reporter and photographer were attacked Monday, June 29, 2026, while preparing for a live report near Adler Planetarium.

The incident happened about 4:25 p.m. in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive, according to Chicago police and WBBM.

The crew was setting up for the station’s 4 p.m. newscast when three men in a white tow truck pulled up near the CBS news van. Witnesses told CBS Chicago that one man got out with a dog and moved toward the crew while shouting racial slurs at one of the journalists.

Police said one of the men directed the dog to attack, but the dog did not engage.

CBS Chicago reported that the situation escalated when one crew member defended himself from the dog. The station said one of the men smashed the photographer’s camera, while another damaged the news van’s windshield with a traffic cone.

The reporter and photographer were not injured.

The men fled in the truck, according to police. About 20 minutes later, police received reports involving the same vehicle near 42nd Street and Western Avenue, where occupants of the truck were accused of pointing a gun at people on the sidewalk. 

Police later recovered a gun from the truck, though the gun had not been pointed at the news crew.

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Officers arrested three people after a pursuit ended near West 36th Street and South California Avenue on suspicion of their involvement in the alleged shooting.

“We are shocked and horrified by this crime and we are grateful that our journalists are safe,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement.

No charges had been announced as of Monday night, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.