Good Morning America meteorologist Ginger Zee shared a scary incident that occurred during an assignment in Oakland, California.
The 43-year-old TV personality was recently on the West Coast for work, but her day was turned upside-down during a quick trip to grab something to eat and use the bathroom.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday morning, Ginger shared a photo of the aftermath following a theft in her car.
The glass was smashed and covered the backseat and the floor in the vehicle, and her personal belongings were scattered in the mess.
In the photo’s caption, Ginger explained what happened during the “smash & grab.”
“Smash & grab was NOT what we had on our bingo card … that’s for sure,” Ginger began, noting that she and her crew, thankfully, were safe, adding that the stolen items were replaceable.
“But it makes me sad for the folks that do this,” Ginger continued. “Whatever circumstance gets someone to that choice of crime, I hope you know you stole things that are very meaningful to me too— items my kids made me I travel with etc, passport, my glasses – all of which I’m sure is trashed and the tech is being sold.”
Ginger added that she recently learned that rental cars, specifically hatchbacks, have been targeted in car thefts.
Although she made sure to hide her belongings out of sight in the vehicle, the thieves weren’t deterred.
“We were only grabbing food and using the bathroom,” Ginger said of the incident. “20 min tops. … It was a beautiful sunny day, about 2 pm.”
Ginger learned a lesson from her experience, encouraging her followers to bring their belongings inside with them at all times, no matter what, to avoid a similar car theft.
Ginger Zee admits she and her GMA colleagues were ‘not prepared’ since the theft took place in broad daylight on a busy street
Ginger received an outpouring of support in the comments of the post. And she also learned that she’s not the only one who has been a victim of car theft.
Ginger’s GMA colleague Lara Spencer expressed her empathy, as did fellow ABC News anchor Shirleen Allicot.
Another ABC News colleague, Deborah Roberts, shared that she “learned that tough lesson” when she was robbed in broad daylight years ago.
“It’s a miserable and gut wrenching feeling of violation,” Deborah shared.
In response to Alison Hall’s comment, Ginger admitted that she and her team “were not prepared” for the theft, especially since it happened right in front of them, next to a busy salad chain on a bright, sunny day.
Ginger’s fan recently fell victim to an online impersonator
The harrowing news comes on the heels of another unfortunate event involving Ginger and her fans.
As Monsters and Critics previously reported, one of Ginger’s superfans fell victim to a catfishing scheme online.
Ginger shared a screenshot of the fan’s DM, in which they were duped into thinking they were chatting with the GMA meteorologist online.
The fan even planned to immigrate from the UK to the US to marry Ginger and “help out with” her sons, Miles and Adrian.
But, as Ginger pointed out, the fan was instead “conned hook, line, and sinker.”