Camera stores are often the target of robberies because they have such valuable inventory on site.
But the robbery usually occurs after hours when no employees are around.
Yet, in the case of a recent The Camera Store robbery in Calgary, Alberta, the thieves arrived during business hours and armed with bear spray.
As these tales usually begin, the customer entered the store and immediately alerted people to something being “off” about him because of his demeanor.
After grabbing a Sony A7R III camera and Sony 16-35mm F2.8 G Master lens, the thief then fled out of the store with The Camera Store employees in pursuit of him.
To dissuade them from following him the thief sprayed capsaicin bear spray at them.
The Camera Store’s Evelyn Drake posted the following to social media according to Sony Alpha Rumors:
“This one hurts. A few of our staff were attacked when they tried to recover a camera as it dashed out the door in the hands of a thief.
On Thursday, May 16th, 2019 at approximately 5PM, a Sony A7R III and Sony 16-35mm F2.8 G Master lens was stolen from The Camera Store in Calgary, Alberta. A middle-aged man in a grey jacket, dark pants, light runners, and sunglasses perched on his head. We knew there was something “off” about him since the moment he walked in, and our team was on high-alert.
Sure enough, he reached down to check his phone for a moment, then dashed for the door with our camera in hand. One staff member attempted to intercept him and was shoved out of the way. Two other employees chased him out foot down the street. The man paused and sprayed a can of bear spray towards our staff, then hopped into a black pick-up truck. Our camera was gone, and our staff’s eyes burned as they came back to the store where we called the Calgary police who were fast to respond to the scene.”
She said of the employees’ chase, “Although it is not our policy to chase down thieves, the loyalty and bravery of the staff who risked their safety are commendable.”
Of course, the thief’s getaway attempt was caught on video. You can watch that over on YouTube by clicking here.
DPReview reports that the stolen Sony camera has the following serial number 3372445 while the lens uses serial number 1803243.
If you see these for sale DPReview urges you to contact The Camera Store.
As always we’d love to know your thoughts in the comments section below.
[DPReview]
