Caught on video: Masked thieves use car to smash into Corona camera store

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Surveillance cameras captured a group of brazen masked thieves smashing a car into a camera store in Corona and raiding it. It's not the first time burglars have hit the store.

The footage shows about fifteen suspects breaking into the store just before 6 a.m. on April 17. Some grabbed boxes from shelves and others went through drawers behind the counter.

"The only issue is that most of the shelves have empty boxes, so whatever they couldn't find... they pretty much took everything else," said store manager Melissa Delgado. "Anything of value. They kind of just went through everything."

It's not the first time Mac Star Camera & Electronics has been targeted by burglars. The store has been hit seven times in two years.

"We started putting stuff in safes. So we had empty shelves at one point and they still tried to break in, so then we decided to take everything out of the boxes."

Last May, two suspects walked into the store, one of which was seen on video taking a camera and running out of the store. Police have not arrested those individuals.

"Back in October of 2021 was the last time that we had a major... burglary in the middle of the night. They took up to $86,000 at that point," Delgado said.

Several Southland camera stores taking protection measures after being robbed by same thieves

Several camera stores in Southern California have been robbed by the same two thieves who reportedly grab expensive cameras and other equipment and run out.

The store has installed reinforced doors and taken other steps to increase security - but the burglaries keep happening. In an effort to deter people from thinking there's anything of value, they even have signs on the window saying there are empty boxes on the shelves.

"It just doesn't work."

Corona police say they recovered a car that was left at the scene, but so far no arrests have been made.