Minn shop hit by George Floyd riots, Covid lockdowns, opened 2 weeks ago only to be looted again

Looters have reportedly targeted a just-reopened Minneapolis business that was previously ransacked for about $150,000 worth of inventory during the civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in police custody last May.

In an appearance on the Fox News Channel, the owner suggested that rioting plus COVID constitutes a one-two punch for businesses throughout Minnesota and across the country.

As a result of the current unrest, his store will have to shut down again for the second time in just one year. He indicated that the establishment is the sole source of income for him and his two young children, as well as his employees.

As alluded to above, popular sneaker and apparel boutique/art gallery STUDIYO23 was shuttered for seven months as a result of last summer’s riots. Looting this week reportedly reoccurred at the store — which had opened its doors a mere two weeks ago — after the police-involved shooting of Daunte Wright in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minn.

Owner Moh Habib told Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy, in part,  that “It’s just a matter of opportunists looking for any chance to thieve, loot, burn, break into property that ‘s not theirs, and we just happen to be a very popular place in the city…It’s such a shame people take advantage of an already terrible situation.”

Habib pointed that this time around, unlike during the Floyd protests last summer when law enforcement was overwhelmed, cops actually showed up, but then had to leave to attend to other crimes, which he said was understandable given the situation.

“It wasn’t for myself and five staff and friends who unfortunately had to be armed in front of our boutique, looters kept coming in waves to try to get us again,” Habib added.

Although Habib acknowledged in a response to Doocy that the looters may have assumed the store had insurance coverage, “a lot of the times I don’t think it gets that far,” he observed.

“I just think that they see opportunity where they know that law enforcement is going to be extremely busy and not able to respond to all the calls…There are selfish people out there in the world unfortunately who take advantage when people are down…

“Thousands of businesses across Minnesota and across the U.S. were devastated not only by lootings, but then you add on top of that the pandemic and the economic pressure that that puts on business owners all across the nation,” he noted.

“It’s been really tough. So for us to be able to reopen and be the light in the city that people expect us to be and all our community actions, it’s tough to know that now we have to close again.”

Watch:

(Source: Fox News)

A GoFundMe page for the STUDIYO23 Recovery, originally set up last year, is still active.

Both Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, the officer who shot Wright, and her boss, Chief Tim Gannon, have resigned their positions. Potter reportedly allegedly mistook her service weapon for s Taser during a traffic stop on Sunday, April 11, leading to a tragic outcome, and so far, three nights of protests.

Authorities will reportedly charge Potter with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Wright.

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