LOS ANGELES, Dec 4 — British indie band Sports Team have been robbed at gunpoint on the first day of their US tour in Vallejo, California.

The band, known for two UK top 10 albums, lost passports, stage equipment and personal belongings when a thief targeted their tour van outside a Starbucks.

The BBC reported that the thief confronted the group’s tour manager with a gun.

“Obviously, if someone pulls a gun, you run for cover,” said lead singer Alex Rice.

A passerby alerted the band to the robbery.

“Somebody opened the door and was like, does anybody have a white Sprinter van? Because you’re being robbed right now,” drummer Al Greenwood told the BBC.

The robbery occurred around 8.45am (0.45am Malaysian time) as the group prepared to leave for their opening show in Sacramento.

In video footage shot by the band and posted on their account on X, the thief can be seen brandishing a gun at the group’s tour manager as she approached the van.

“So we all ran out, shouting. Lauren, our tour manager, was slightly ahead of me, and somebody else ran past us in the opposite direction, and said, ‘Careful, he’s holding something.’”

“I really thought I was about to watch someone get shot, because it took a while for our tour manager to realise,” Greenwood said, adding, “In the video, you can hear me screaming at her to get down.”

The thief smashed the passenger window of the van and stole electronics, including film cameras and stage laptops, along with passports, documents and clothes.

The band’s instruments were spared as they were stored in a separate locked compartment.

In the tweet accompanying the video, the band posted, “They can take our Nintendo Switches but they can never take our ability to play rock songs about motorways.”

“In all seriousness pretty shocking how resigned everyone seemed to be to it. ‘It happens’. 9am at some petrol station Starbucks. Wild.”

US police reportedly advised the band to “fill out an online form” about the incident, and no officers were sent to the scene.

Greenwood said she also lost her journal, calling it “almost the worst part” of the experience.

Despite the ordeal, the band plans to proceed with their tour and played their first show last night.

“We’re definitely not going to let this put us off,” Greenwood said. “And ultimately, it really makes you reflect on things to be grateful for, both here and at home.”

Rice added that the incident highlighted broader issues.

“We’ve got nothing against the Bay Area. We think it’s great here — but it’s sad that it’s kind of got to this sort of place with gun violence,” he said.