Hollidaysburg photo studio owner speaks out after business is burglarized

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ)– Hollidaysburg police are still searching for whoever burglarized the Hollow Photography studio along Allegheny Street in Hollidaysburg.

Owner Kelsey Johnston has been doing Photography in Central PA for a few years now, but her studio in Hollidaysburg has only been open for two months. Now with the studio temporarily closed, she’s been trying to pick up the pieces of her business since multiple pieces of equipment were stolen.

“Police are saying it happened Friday into Saturday,” Johnston said. “There is a witness that heard young people in here around midnight.”

Kelsey never uses the front door of her business and normally has it blocked off. But that didn’t stop whoever broke in from smashing a hole in the door to gain entry.

“I found a rock underneath a shelf with red paint and scratches on it,” Johnston said. “So I don’t know if they used that and hit it.”

Johnston says that what creeps her out is that the burglar(s) seemed to make themselves at home. She says they went through multiple shelves and cabinets and even used the bathroom.

“It’s kind of juvenile,” Johnston said. “Like there was a $300 drill that’s left, there’s a $300 hair curler that’s left, but they took a feather boa?”

But they also took pieces of equipment that are essential for her to work, including a DSLR camera and lens, a laptop and a tablet. Johnston says that the replacement cost is high, but that some things are irreplaceable.

“So to me it costs over thousands but the stuff on it is worth hundreds of thousands to me,” Johnston said. “With my work, my educations, you know that’s six years of work.”

Thankfully the Hollidaysburg community is stepping up to help her in her time of need.

“When this happened I felt very alone,” Johnston said. “Community members came out and said like hey I have a laptop you can use, I have a camera you can use. Like people I don’t even know.”

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Johnston says that she’s heard from several local business owners that this isn’t uncommon. So far no security camera footage has surfaced. Right now Johnston says that she is focused on making sure she and the neighboring businesses are safe.

“I want to be able to use something tragic like this and say hey let’s pull together, and show people that this is not okay,” Johnston said. “This is not okay and if you guys are used to this, then we need to do something.”

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