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Sounds like an inside job to me. Takes a good amount of planning and research to find a weak spot in the wall that you can cut a big hole through. Just happens that no surveillance cameras were pointed in that direction either from either side of the wall, right?

Just a minor property crime. If they are caught they will be released Thanks Jerry. No vacancy in prison with 3 square meals, weights, and the Playboy Channel.

Does sound like a inside job. These days, is camera equipment easy to sell on the black market? Is there a big market for them? Check eBay and Craig's List in a month.

@foo, if this was an inside job, I imagine an employee would have copied the key to the back door instead of making a mess with power tools. Also, they'd have gone to the safe in the stockroom to get the really valuable merchandise. So as it is, I suspect the thief was an outsider who cased the place, perhaps while pretending to be a customer.

I doubt this was an inside job.

If it were, the burglars would have targeted brand new high-end merchandise, not used gear. Why steal a $250 used Canon when you can steal a $22,000 new Leica?

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The only way they'll be able to get rid of the used equipment is on the auction sites. I'm sure PAPD is watching ebay for postings, if the buglers are that stupid. You never know.

Please stop with the victim blaming. This isn;t the first time these poor shop owners have been targeted. Remember the thieves who rammed a van through teh front of their shop last year?

Web Link

Oh Terry, I'm so sorry. That's awful!

Sue Kemp

It's hard to believe the burglars didn't attract attention, given the noise the power tools would have made. Most likely break-in time would have been after restaurants / bars closed, likely between 3.00am-6.00am. Thieves are brazen, not intellectual giants, hence, they only made-off with used camera gear. Quickly in-and-out, with a look-out to advise if anyone should stumble-on to the burglary in-progress. Hope there is enough DNA on the abandoned power tools to affect an arrest, or CCTV footage on California Avenue to provide a lead to a possible getaway vehicle. No shop-owner deserves to arrive at his business to find he/she has been violated, as staying in business and trying to make a go of it is difficult enough, to say the least!

How unfortunate and ironic that there were no surveillance cameras at a camera shop. The burglars likely wanted to hit it before closing day. And how can anyone crawl through that small space? That's most puzzling to me.

My condolences. Small business owners are an important part of our neighborhoods and communities, doing all of us a
favor with their time, energy and excellent service. It's just heartbreaking. I really hope the perpetrators are caught. And I'm sure our law enforcement will do the best job possible in bringing justice if they are identified.

@:(
Surveillance cameras aren't that useful if the crooks wear hoodies and cover their faces. The fact that they did this without setting off the motion detectors tells you they weren't amateurs.

I feel bad for the owner. Speculation and/or blame-storming aside, this is another blow for a store on its way out, in itself a significantly sad event. I'm sorry, Mr. Shuchat.

I am sure this was deeply dispiriting for Terry, who has provided such amazing service to the community in so many ways, from great products and services, to sponsorship of community activities, to leadership in the Cal Ave business community which I well remember when I was on the Planning Commission 30 years ago. The decision to close the business, however much we see the technological and economic forces at work, I'm sure has been personally difficult, Beyond that, it's hard to no longer offer a livelihood for loyal employees. Those who have not been burglarized like this don't know how the dispiriting sense of violation. Most troubling about the comments though is the cynicism and suspicion about an inside job that is the antithesis of a community rallying around a member who has been hurt. Now's the time to say thank you for a half century of enriching the community life of Palo Alto.

@Mark Chandler, you said it far more completely and eloquently than I did. Thank you.

Those thieves were none to aware of the values. Used cameras and lenses implies they took older film based equipment. (Assuming little resale value) I strongly doubt an insider would have hung out grabbing stuff from the Used Section,

I am so sorry. I am sad enough that the store is closing. Now this. My condolences to everyone at the store.

This is so sad! I'm sorry for the owner & employees. I've been a customer since the days of Keeble & Lohman, when John Lohman helped me with my first camera.
Is there no PAPD patrol in the wee hours? I wish we had security cameras everywhere.
Calling this an "inside job" is insulting to the long time employees of this business!

I am So sorry to hear about the break in and stolen property! Also very sorry to hear Keeble & Shuchat is closing! I hope the criminals are apprehended and prosecuted, and the property recovered.

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I find it interested that after the last break in, no alarms/motion sensors were installed to prevent further theft, especially when you're selling high end cameras worth thousands of dollars...was it frugalness or just plain stupidity.

I am curious, how do people know only the second hand rental stuff was stolen? This store has lot of expensive new equipment too, I can imagine. Did I miss it in the news report above? Thanks.

Inside job most likely. Probably the culprits fled to San Francisco because of its sanctuary city status.

Kamera Korner in SJ in 2007 got hit in similar fashion. Lost $30k+ of used equipment and nothing turned up. The new alarm sensor was "misaligned" by the installer and didn't spot the thieves, so they had lots of time to clean us out of all our best expensive used equipment. We never really recovered from that and closed early 2010. Sorry to hear K&S is closing; specialty shops like K&S and KK are always missed after they have closed.

@Bob LeClair,

Sorry to know about Kamera Korner closing in this way in 2010.

You are so right: specialty shops are missed after they are closed.

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