Journalist Wearing Google Glass Claims He Was Attacked; Device Smashed In SF Mission District
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man said he had his Google Glass snatched of his face and smashed to the ground in San Francisco's Mission District Friday evening.
20-year-old journalist Kyle Russell, a reporter for Business Insider, said the attack happened as he was walking on the sidewalk with a colleague. A woman came up to him and yelled, "Glass!" and grabbed the device off his face and sprinted away, he said.
Russell said he chased the woman through traffic for a block before she stopped and flung the $1,500 device onto the ground, breaking it - then running away again.
The attack happened just after Russell had been covering a march in protest against a Google lawyer who allegedly evicted people from a building he purchased.
Earlier that morning, many of those protesters also blocked a Google bus in the Mission District on Dolores and 18th streets.
Russell said that, "in retrospect, I can see how [wearing Glass after Mission District Google protest] might not have been the best idea."
His Twitter account has been flooded with reaction to the incident, from the initial support of friends and colleagues to the onslaught of tweets celebrating his misfortune.
In February, the alleged attack on Glass-wearing social media consultant Sarah Slocum at a San Francisco bar generated headlines worldwide and a helped create a backlash against wearers of the device and its perceived infringement on people's privacy.
Both Google Glass and Google buses are also seen as a symbol of privilege among those who are negatively affected by the influx of the tech industry.
After a beta-test period for select users, Google will begin selling Glass to any U.S. resident starting Tuesday, April 15.
