Historic North Bay camera shop damaged during break-in, $50K in merchandise stolen

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - A North Bay camera shop that serves as an educational hub and museum that is popular among shutterbugs was broken into this week. 

What we know:

Seawood Photo on 4th Street in San Rafael was broken into on Monday during the early morning overnight hours. Seawood's store president told KTVU that someone ultimately drove a car through the store's front window and ransacked the premises, resulting in an estimated $50,000 in stolen merchandise, along with $10,000 in repair costs. 

Photos of damage from the break-in courtesy Seawood Photo. 

"They went around the perimeter of the store and broke a couple of windows trying to get in, and when they could not get in, they drove a car through one of the large plate-glass windows," store President Graham Law said. "We unfortunately didn't catch a whole lot of it on video." 

Beloved steward of photo history 

The store, established in 1947, shared Brinks security camera footage of some of the moments from the break-in. The time-stamp shows 3:24 a.m. By 3:33 a.m. police are seen on the security camera video milling around with flashlights, assessing the damage. 

Law said it was next-door neighbors to the business that caught the car and people running around it. 

Law said primarily used equipment, like film cameras, which the store specializes in, was taken. "Some new merchandise was stolen as well." 

The store shared photos of vandalized showcases that held Leica lenses and other camera equipment. 

"It was quite a mess when we came in," Law said. He said running a business like this isn't easy. "It's tough enough to be in a position to where you're trying to get by every day as it is and when something like this happens it just makes things pretty difficult." 

Photos of damage from the break-in courtesy Seawood Photo. 

They're not alone 

Unfortunately, this camera store is not alone. A GoFundMe started by the store explains other Bay Area camera stores have recently been hit by thieves in similar incidents. 

"It does look similar," said Law. "Looking Glass in Berkeley, Shutterbug in Novato. There's been probably six or seven other stores that have been hit the same way. Generally it's between seven and 10 guys and they crash a car through the front and run in and they're in and out in probably less than a minute." 

Photos of damage from break-in courtesy Seawood Photo. 

Law said he heard the police response was pretty quick and that they were on the scene within 10 minutes. 

In a statement, San Rafael police told KTVU that the burglary is now under investigation and that the car used in the break-in was reported as stolen to Oakland police.

A spokesperson said this incident is believed to be linked to other burglaries in the Bay Area.

"On March 31, 2025, at around 3:20 AM, several unknown suspects used a vehicle to back into a plate glass window and break into Seawood Photo, located in the 1600 block of Fourth Street in Downtown San Rafael.  The suspects stole an undisclosed amount of camera equipment," the department said.

What's next:

In the meantime, as of Tuesday, the fundraiser seeking $50,000 has raised just over $7,000. Aside from the funds replacing the stolen gear, officials from the store explained over the last week, they learned their HVAC system needs to be replaced. 

The store is seeing moral support from the community. As they were cleaning up the destruction, neighbors and nearby high-school students stopped in to ask what had happened. They even mention Flash, the store cat, who is a bit shaken up from the break-in, but overall is fine. 

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