Gay photographer Stephen Masker says he was taking photos of DARTs Uptown Station (near CityPlace) on Monday when three or four men approached in a van and demanded his camera at gunpoint. Masker refused to hand over the camera, and the men eventually fled, according to WFAA:
“I said, ‘What? Like, what are you talking about?'” Masker recalled. “He repeated himself and said, ‘Give me your camera.’ I said, ‘I’m not giving you my camera.'”
Masker said the men tried again, and once more he resisted before the men took off in a tan or gold mini-van.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” Masker said. “It was unreal.”
Highland Park police say a few minutes before, suspects matching the same description held up another man in an alley near Hillcrest and Princeton, taking his phone.
Masker said if he had to do it all again, he would not do it the same way.
“I would’ve given them the camera if it was a do-over,” he said. “If it ever happens again, I’ll give away whatever’s on me.”
Watch WFAA’s report below:
Pretty ballsy move, Masker. I’m just glad you weren’t harmed during the encounter. I have to wonder what the assailants would have done if you had simply aimed and snapped their photo.
Wtf, What does being gay have to do with anything!!??
That is just wrong… Race, gender, sexuality doesn’t have a thing to do with what happened here. So why point that out??
Ryan, we’re an LGBT newspaper. We cover news about gay and lesbian and bisexual and transgender people. That’s why it’s news to our community. Sorry if you think the entire premise of our newspaper is just wrong, but that’s what we do.