The Camera Store (TCS), one of the widespread digicam, lens, and pictures tools retailers in western Canada, suffered a break-in this morning, Might 3, and over $30,000 value of Sony, Nikon, and DJI tools was stolen.
TCS, which operates the favored YouTube Channel referred to as TheCameraStoreTV and which is the place PetaPixel‘s Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake acquired their begin, shared some info relating to the break-in on its blog.
In accordance with surveillance footage which might be seen above, two people broke into the shop at round 5:00 AM on Wednesday, Might 3, and smashed show instances to entry a variety of apparatus that they then stuffed into what look like shoulder or tote luggage. The 2 suspects, which TCS says look to be a male and a feminine, might be seen grabbing no matter they will because the alarm sounds within the background.
The 2, who wore darkish clothes, hoods, and masks in the course of the theft, stay at giant and TCS urges anybody with info on the theft to name the police (403-266-1234) and reference the police case quantity CA23182932. People who want to submit suggestions however stay nameless can name crime stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
“Theft has a substantial influence on small firms like ours. We’re extraordinarily grateful for the unwavering backing of the photographic group now, just as we were in 2017 when Leica and Hasselblad gear was taken and later recovered by the Calgary Police Service,” The Digicam Retailer tells PetaPixel.
“We’re working with the native police to analyze the crime. The Digicam Retailer is providing a $5,000 purchasing spree reward for info that results in a charged conviction.”
Digicam Gear Continues to be a Main Goal for Theft
Digicam tools stays one of many highest precedence targets for theft because the tools is troublesome, if not not possible, to trace and is due to this fact simple to promote. Photographers are focused by thieves frequently who will both break into vehicles to steal digicam luggage and even steal cameras instantly off the shoulders of vacationers.
There have been a number of documented assaults on photographers who had their tools stolen from them, some at gunpoint, in broad daylight over the previous couple of years. A marriage photographer was attacked by gun-wielding thieves at the Palace of Fine Arts. Final March, a digicam crew was robbed of $35,000 in gear at gunpoint in the course of the day close to the Golden Gate Bridge. Photographers have been robbed while stuck in traffic, a photographer was shot by robbers after refusing to give up her camera, and final October a photographer was followed home and robbed of his gear at gunpoint after photographing the Golden Gate bridge.
The Leica Retailer in Union Sq. was robbed of $178,000 in camera equipment final 12 months, and thieves additionally brought about $20,000 in harm throughout their three-minute smash-and-grab.
Whereas these assaults primarily passed off in San Francisco, the development just isn’t restricted to town by the bay. Final 12 months, Mike’s Cameras was robbed in a smash-and-grab of apparatus. 5 males broke into the constructing because the store opened at 10 AM and, at gunpoint, stole tools off cabinets and out of show instances. Mike’s Cameras estimated the overall worth of stolen gadgets to be round $80,000.
There have been calls for digicam firms to search out some approach to enhance the safety of photographers by implementing trendy strategies of constructing cameras a much less simple goal. So far, nonetheless, none have offered an answer.
