'They took everything from us': protesters in California ransacked a cult store

For nearly five decades, the Santa Monica Music Center (California) has served as an oasis of art and education in which people with different tastes and financial abilities can enjoy music. But during the riots inside the center, almost everything is damaged or plundered. Writes about it Fox News.

Photo: Shutterstock

“It was some kind of horror movie,” said Lana Negrete, 40. She now co-owns the center with her father, Chico, and runs the family business with her husband. “They took everything from us and no one stopped them.”

Located on 19th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, the center, founded in 1972 by Cuban-Spanish brothers Paul Chico and Victor Fernandez, rented musical instruments at low prices to local schools and anyone who wanted to learn how to play, but could not afford buy your own tool.

Now the future of the center is uncertain.

The incident occurred around 16:00 on Sunday, May 31, in the afternoon. Negreta and her husband were on the beach with their two daughters, 10 and 12 years old. At some point, the family noticed a damaged tire on one of the girls' bikes. It was a kind of omen.

“We heard the windows being broken. I saw a woman pressing her face against the glass of our store. Then she called other people, and Negrete recreated the picture of what had happened. “The crowd tried to enter, and I started screaming.”

The owner of a small pharmacy adjacent to them advised them (as a deterrent) to guard outside. And he was already wearing an AR-15 and bulletproof vest.

“We entered and began to hide what we could. Then they moved the refrigerator to barricade the door,” she continued to replay the incident. “But soon groups of first five and then 10 people began to approach the center - most with backpacks and on skateboards, with machetes and hammers in their hands.”

On the subject: 3 facts that explain why protesters in the USA are dissatisfied: rallies against racism began in Europe

A few minutes later, when Negrete dared to look at what was happening again, hundreds of people moved from all directions. Cars rushed to the center, including the new luxury Mercedes SUVs and Infiniti cars. Protesters of all ages and nations attacked the center building before her eyes.

“I saw 16-year-old girls stealing designer clothes... I saw a woman with a small child in the back seat drive up to a building and start pushing her 13-year-old son out of the car so he could go and steal something. The boy was nervous,” Negrete said. “There were a lot of people there who had nothing to do with the protests over the death of George Floyd: parents were stealing with their children.”

Calling 911 was useless. According to the frightened owner of the Music Center, they were told that the police could not get to the scene. And they advised: if they are registered owners of weapons, then they can use it to protect their private property. However, California has one of the most stringent weapons laws in the country.

Violence intensified as more and more looters came to the building.

“There were weapons and people trying to help us,” Negrete further explained. “One of the guys got out of the car, looked at my friend’s baseball bat and said, “What the hell are you going to do with that?” and pulled out his gun."

For the pogrom, the rebels used tons of bricks. They are usually placed under garbage cans at the beginning of the day before the planned protests, and when the looters arrive, they know where those bricks are and use them.

“It was not just theft, but absolute anarchy,” Negrete said. “They don’t understand who they’re stealing from.” Our business is unprofitable, we have low income. Moreover, we give money to charitable organizations every month, even if we don’t have much money.”

On the subject: Will insurance cover car damage during protests and riots?

Just two days before the looting, the Santa Monica Music Center opened its doors for the first time in almost three months after quarantine. According to Negrete, as of Wednesday, June 3, the police have not yet come to take evidence.

“They said it would take two or three weeks,” she laments. “And I even have the cell phone of one of the looters.”

The co-owner of the center said that cello and other instruments, in her opinion, stolen from the store, began to appear on Craigslist. She believes that 80% of their business has been destroyed, and now there is a struggle between the owner and the insurance company over who will pay for what.

“I’m trying my best, and I also have a family to feed, and we’re not entitled to any help from the government,” she said. — We pay taxes, we are hardworking people. Stolen things are not just things for us. That's all we had."

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On May 27, George Floyd, an African American from Minneapolis, died after a Minneapolis police officer strangled him with a knee. Officer Derek Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter; three other officers also lost their jobs. Protests and riots subsequently eruptedand in Minneapolis and across the country.
• The Minnesota state governor said protests over the death of African-American George Floyd, spanning dozens of US cities, are already not related to murder, but provoked by visiting radicals.
• Protests in Minneapolis sharply intensified in the evening of May 27when city police took action in response to looted and burned shops in the city, as well as fatal shooting at a protest venue.
• May 31 truck drove into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis (Minnesota). At the wheel of a car was a citizen of the United States, presumably of Ukrainian origin, Bogdan Vechirko. He was arrested, but on June 2 released from custody awaiting further investigation. Eventually no charges were brought against him.
• About 40 cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit, and Philadelphia, banned street demonstrations after dark. Texas and Virginia Governors introduced a state of emergency.
• In connection with protests in US cities embassies of Ukraine and Russia asked their citizenslocated in the United States, maintain order and avoid crowds wherever possible and comply with security measures.
• June 1, Donald Trump enacted the law of 1807, allowing him send armed forces to shocked states in connection with the death of George Floyd.
• According to the official autopsy of George Floyd, his death was caused by mechanical asphyxia and should be considered violent.
• As of 4 June victims of mass protests in the United States, at least 11 people have become.
• All police officers involved in the death of George Floyd arrested. They face up to 40 years in prison.
• More 10 people were arrested during protestscondemning racism and police brutality over the death of George Floyd.

Read also on ForumDaily:

New York v. De Blasio: mayor's impeachment petition gains support amid protests

Chaos in New York: city on the brink, protesters ignore curfew

In California, protesters stole more than 70 luxury cars from a car dealership

3 facts that explain why protesters in the USA are dissatisfied: rallies against racism began in Europe

Forensic experts admit George Floyd's death as murder: famous musicians support protests

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