The protests for the death of African-American George Floyd have sparked national violence and unrest. However, businesses have not been spared, as some use the confusion to start looting and pillaging stores.
In downtown Chicago, protesters went into a Nike Store from a shattered exterior window and came out holding the store's iconic products. In Los Angeles, over at Melrose Avenue, looters set fire to garbage disposals and destroyed locks on stores, bringing with them armfuls of luxury items.
Looting businesses
According to the New York Times, owners of business establishment in the city of Minneapolis stood in front of their stores amid the widening protests to plead rioters to spare their shops that several said took them their entire life savings to build.
An immigrant from Iraq, Hussein Aloshani, said "I was outside saying, 'Please, I don't have insurance!'" He waved his arms in frustrations outside his family's deli as he remembered Friday night's events.
Business establishments across the United States have suffered tremendous damages as protesters of Floyd's death began to take their anger out on commercial buildings ranging from major multinational corporations to little family restaurants and bars.
Target, one of the largest retail corporations available, has decided to close down 175 branches around the US in anticipation of potential looters and thugs.
Also Read: Trump Calls George Floyd Protesters as "Thugs," Saying That Looting Will Lead to Shooting
In a statement, Target said their team is heartbroken with the loss of George Floyd and that their decision to shut down some of their stores temporarily was for the well-being and safety of their personnel, as reported by Forbes.
US President Donald Trump accused Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of being responsible for the protests on Wednesday night, saying he would deploy the National Guard, which came after Frey had already made moves to rally them through the governor of the state.
Violence is not the key
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, said, "We are all angry, but what are you changing by tearing up a city? You've lost all credibility now," after protesters busted into the College Football Hall of Fame and stole some of its gear. What they're doing is not the way to change the world, she added.
A video showed how looters towed shopping cars filled with products from Target located in Minneapolis, where they left the inside of the store in tatters. The CEO of Target, Brian Cornell, said he hopes to bring back the store to its former glory by the end of the year but stated that the extent of the damage could delay plans, as reported in the Star Tribune.
In other locations, protesters vandalized storefronts with graffitis depicting police brutality against African-Americans, and some even emphasize Floyd's last words, "I can't breathe." Some also threw hardware equipment and burned buildings to the ground with gasoline.
Officials have begun investigations looking into the possibility of political agitators posing as peaceful protesters leading some of the movements. In other cities, peaceful rallies were outnumbered by violent rioters such as white anarchists who seemed to be more focused on destruction than justice.
