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A touring British indie-rock band claimed they lost personal gear when armed robbers targeted their van while they were getting coffee at a Starbucks in Vallejo, California, Tuesday morning on the first day of their U.S. tour.
The band posted about the incident on their Instagram account. Cellphone video showed an individual taking items out of a van as the person taking the video shouts for one of the band’s party to get down before yelling, “Ring the police! Ring the police!”
The video appeared to be of the Starbucks and gas station located at 199 Lincoln Rd. West in Vallejo.
Sports Team/Instagram
“Just been robbed at gun point 10 minutes into the US tour,” the text accompanying the video read. “Stopped for coffee. Man runs in saying some guys are smashing into a van. Ran out to try to stop it and find masked guys ransacking the van. Start yelling and they pull out a gun.”
In the video, one of the individuals robbing the van can be seen brandishing a firearm, reportedly at the tour manager. Two members of the band’s touring contingent are then seen running back into the Starbucks as people in the coffee shop can be heard instructing people to stay inside. In addition to expletives, the victims are heard mentioning items that they saw being taken including bags and a laptop.
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According to a story posted by the BBC, the band — who have placed two albums in the UK top 10 — “lost their passports, stage equipment and personal belongings in the incident,” which happened at around 8:45 a.m.
The band had been scheduled to start their U.S. tour in San Francisco at the Kilowatt on Monday night, but a cancelled flight out of the United Kingdom led to that show being rescheduled at the Chapel for this Saturday evening. The delay meant that Sport Team would actually kick off their tour with an all-ages show Tuesday night at the Goldfield Trading Post in Sacramento. The band was on their way to Sacramento when the robbery happened.
“Police response was “submit an online report.” Lost a lot of personal gear, but they didn’t get the instruments so driving on to Sacramento to play tonight,” the band said in their Instagram post. They later confirmed they lost gaming consoles, their passports and personal computers.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to the Vallejo Police Department regarding the incident, but has not yet heard back.
While the post attempted some levity, the band seemed shocked and shaken at what happened to them.
“In all seriousness pretty shocking how resigned everyone seemed to be to it. ‘It happens,'” the post said in closing. “9am at some petrol station Starbucks. Wild.”
CBS News Sacramento spoke with the band prior to their performance at the Goldfield Trading Post Tuesday. They said they were disappointed about what happened and how they say police responded, but surprisingly remain optimistic about their upcoming tour.
“It’s been quite a surreal day I think,” said Al Greenwood, the drummer for Sports Team.
The band — new to the U.S. — is quickly learning how law enforcement response can vary widely across communities.
“We don’t blame the police at all. It’s just indicative of the crime within that community and how normalized it has become for them,” said Greenwood.
Despite the terrifying start to their tour, the band said they are grateful to be safe and focused on hitting the right notes with their fans when they perform.
“There’s no better way to get through something like that than to get on stage and connect with people through music,” Greenwood explained.
The band said they’re excited to be in Northern California and for their next show in San Francisco on Saturday. Before then, they’re planning on checking out the sites and heading to Yosemite National Park.
Brady Halbleib contributed to this story.
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