Following an armed robbery and shooting at San Jose Camera and Video on South Winchester Boulevard in Campbell on Wednesday, many suspects are still at large.
According to Campbell police, it occurred just before 11 a.m.
Camera cases, tools, and evidence markers were strewn outside the family-run business. Most of the day, the parking area next to the photography shop served as a crime scene.
While working nearby, Kathy Martinek heard loud explosions that, at first, she assumed might have been firecrackers for the Lunar New Year.
“Come to find out, there were gunshots right here,” she said as she motioned toward the camera store. “Yards from our building.”
Martinek remembered hearing five or more pieces of gunfire. One victim was shot, according to Campbell PD, and was brought to a nearby hospital.
“Gunshot wound to the abdomen,” broadcasting’s scanner audio notified listeners.
Police withhold information about the victim’s condition and refuse to say if they are clients or employees.
Police dogs searched the area on Wednesday afternoon as glass and bullet holes were visible on parked cars.
Martinek stated that she believed the incident lasted a few seconds after hearing the gunfire.
“It looked like one of the workers at San Jose Camera, on his phone, and like frantic and scared,” Martinek described. “And then I saw two cars just take off fast.”
She is unsure if the suspects were in the vehicles that fled the scene or worried bystanders who may have escaped the shooting in haste.
According to Campbell PD, numerous suspects are still at large. The crime’s specifics are uncannily identical to others ABC7 News has reported on in the Bay Area.
In a heist in November not far from San Francisco’s Union Square, nearly $180,000 worth of goods were taken from a camera store. On local surveillance, four people emerged from a gray vehicle near Bush and Grant Streets.
Then, earlier this month, a high-end photography business in Pleasant Hill was the scene of another robbery. A gang of suspects was also involved in the event.
According to Campbell PD, it’s too soon to make any assumptions about how Wednesday’s robbery might be related to it or whether it fits into a broader pattern of criminality.
Upon entering the shuttered photography shop, a shopper told ABC7 News, “This is frightful! Thus, they specifically target those who visit this location to make purchases. Poor them. The company won’t afford to have a police officer stationed here keeping an eye on all the patrons.”
Although the proprietors shied away from talking, they did post a notice warning clients of the armed robbery. They stated that they will not be reopening until January 30 to protect the mental health of their workers.
