SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: ABC reporter Matt Gunman admitted on air that his bosses warned him to avoid going live from downtown San Francisco because he was told the area is "simply too dangerous." While filming the 4.00 am GMT 'Good Morning America' on Wednesday, June 14 during a segment on the closure of the Westfield Mall, the network's chief national correspondent told viewers that he was advised to shoot in a different part of the city.
Gutman reported that the rising crime in the city could be blamed for the shocking closure of the shopping center. "The mayor noting that several metrics of crime are actually flat or down," Gutman said and added, "But it is worth mentioning that we are not at Union Square or the Westfield Mall this morning because we have been advised it is simply too dangerous to be there at this hour." Following that, Michael Strahan at the studio stated that Gutman's statement was "saying a lot there."
Who is Matt Gutman?
Gutman, who works as ABC News' Chief National Correspondent, reports for the news divisions' broadcast and platforms including 'Nightline', '20/20', 'World News Tonight with David Muir', and 'Good Morning America'. Based in Los Angeles, the graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts has won multiple awards for his reporting from 40 countries, according to his biography on the ABC website.
The '20/20' television newsmagazine won a Christopher Award for Gutman's tireless reporting on the Thai cave rescue mission in which 12 boys and their soccer coach were rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand. Gutman then chronicled the events of the mission in his book 'The Boys in the Cave'.
Gutman is married to his longtime girlfriend Daphna Venyige and the couple shares two children.
San Francisco grapples with surge in violent crime
Violent crime is on the rise in San Francisco over the past few years along with the ongoing fentanyl crisis. Compared to 2022, crimes including grand thefts auto, arson, robberies, and homicides have witnessed a rise of over 5% this year, as per police data. Talking to Fox News, San Francisco prosecutor Charles Stimson said, "Crime is worse than the data shows."
"People do not report these crimes because when you have a DA who’s pro-criminal and not going to enforce the law, the cops aren’t going to go out and arrest somebody when they know the case is going to be no-papered," he added.
However, San Francisco Mayor London Breed told Gutman that the media focused more on the negative side when the reporter asked him during the GMA segment whether the city has become "dangerous" over the years. "Well, here’s the thing, San Francisco is a major city and it has challenges. But let’s back up a little bit. You are talking about people leaving the city but not the people who are staying, expanding, coming to San Francisco," the mayor said.
