THIS is the horrifying moment a touring British rock band was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight – before they had even played a single note.
Sports Team had parked their tour bus at a Starbucks in Vallejo, California on Tuesday at 8.54am local time, the morning after landing in San Francisco.
SPORTS TEAM/UNPIXSThe assailant, circled in red, rushes to a getaway car after the smash and grab[/caption]
@sportsteam / instagramThe tour bus was damaged during the robbery[/caption]
SPORTS TEAM/UNPIXSWitnesses can be seen running for cover[/caption]
@sportsteam / instagramThe British band had just arrived in the US before being robbed[/caption]
The shocking footage shows a hooded man casually strolling up to the vehicle before smashing the window and pulling a gun on the tour manager.
The crime was filmed by another band member from inside the coffee house.
The video shows the person behind the camera cowering behind a car before dashing in to the Starbucks to escape the danger.
Terrified witnesses could be seen running to safety as the robbery unfolded.
Among the items stolen were passports, stage equipment and personal belongings.
Alex Rice, frontman of the group, told Sky News how shocked he was that the reaction to the event was quite calm, as if this sort of thing is normal.
He recalled: “Obviously, if someone pulls a gun, you run for cover.
“But the thing that struck me about it was the resignation.
“The people around us weren’t very panicked at all. It seemed like a very everyday occurrence.
“People say ‘get down’ as if the rain’s just started coming down outside, as if the weather‘s changed so people should go inside.
“That’s been the saddest bit to see, the level of resignation, the fact that people take this in their stride now.”
Reports say that no officers were sent to the scene to investigate.
The singer noted the irony that this shocking theft happened so quickly into their tour.
He lamented: “We all sprint back into the Starbucks. They’ve taken a huge amount of personal stuff and musical equipment from the middle of our van.
“So, haven’t played a note yet, one minute in, we’ve got our stuff taken.”
Drummer Al Greenwood said: “Somebody opened the door and was like, does anybody have a white Sprinter van?
“Because you’re being robbed right now.
“So we all ran out, shouting. Lauren, our tour manager, was slightly ahead of me, and somebody else ran past us in the opposite direction, and said, ‘Careful, he’s holding something.’”
“I really thought I was about to watch someone get shot, because it took a while for our tour manager to realise,” she added.
“In the video, you can hear me screaming at her to get down.”
The musicians were inside the Starbucks at the time eating breakfast.
Sports Team were promoting their upcoming album, Boys These Days, and will continue to do so despite the incident.
Thankfully, the band’s instruments were not taken, as they were stored in a separate locked area at the back of the van.
@sportsteam / instagramThe band’s instruments were kept safe because their were specially locked away[/caption]
SPORTS TEAM/UNPIXSThe tour bus window is left smashed by the burglar[/caption]
@sportsteam / instagramThe band plan to continue their tour despite the incident[/caption]
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