OAKLAND — A photojournalist was robbed of thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment Sunday after taking pictures in the Grand Lake district of a soon-to-be-married couple, according to the victim and police.
The suspect was able to flee after simulating a gun and threatening the photographer and the couple, who had come to her aid.
The robbery was reported at 3:42 p.m. Sunday in the 3900 block of Grand Avenue.
The photojournalist, a 56-year-old woman who used to work for local newspapers before starting her own photography business decades ago, said Monday she and the couple were walking back to their cars from the Morcom Rose Garden where she had taken “engagement session” photographs of them.
She noticed the suspect acting suspiciously nearby and said “I knew instinctively what he was going to do, so I started screaming hysterically.”
The man lunged at her, grabbing a camera she had on one shoulder and her camera bag on another shoulder that contained other equipment, and they struggled. After the camera and bag fell to the ground, the couple that had been photographed began struggling with the robber over the items.
The photographer had moved away from the scene but quickly came back to try and help the couple. It was at that point the robber reached into his clothing as if he had a gun and made threats toward them.
The photographer said at that point “I said ‘hey pal, it’s all yours,'” and the robber fled with the loss to a vehicle that had just pulled up.
Detailed descriptions of the robber and vehicle he fled in were not released.
The photographer said Monday she was still shaken by what had happened and had not slept a wink. She was wondering what she could have done differently.
She said she is aware of photographers being robbed before and said that usually “I’m always aware of everything around me but this time I sort of dropped my guard. I’ve always been on guard in San Francisco, but I never thought I’d have to be in Oakland. I always thought I was charmed.”
She also had praise for the Oakland police officers who responded. “They treated me with so much respect and humanity. It was like I was the only person who was a victim in Oakland.”
Photographers and videographers, including some working for newspapers and television stations, have been the target of robbers and thieves going back several years, not only in Oakland but other cities.
Most recently in April, a KPIX-TV station crew was robbed of some equipment in the city’s lower Dimond District by a masked suspect who claimed to have a gun. In February, another KPIX crew was robbed outside an East Oakland library. In that case, one of the robbers shot the crew’s security guard, who was able to return fire and wound the suspect. Two suspects, including the wounded one, were later arrested.
In Sunday’s crime, police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.