Rioters protesting the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, an African-American man who died after being arrested and pinned to the ground by officer Derek Chauvin, destroyed a bar owned by a black former firefighter Wednesday night.
Korboi Balla had invested his life savings in the bar and was planning to open it before the coronavirus pandemic caused mass business closures. Balla then moved the opening date to June 1, when Minnesota plans to lift restrictions on restaurants, but the bar has since been wracked and looted in the riots, CBS first reported.
CBS was filming a segment at the bar when looters entered through the back of the establishment to try to steal Balla’s safe.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Balla said in an interview. “It hurts, man. It’s not fair, it’s not right. We’ve been working so hard for this place. It’s not just for me, it’s for my family.”
Balla’s wife Tywanna said that the bar was not insured.
“Yes people are mad and upset, I get that and I understand the protest, I’m hearing people say F*** the business they have insurance WELL WE DON’T AND THIS IS ALL OUT OF POCKET!!!” Tywanna wrote in a Facebook post. “Let someone come run in your home and loot for the cause then and let’s see you be ok with it!”
Floyd was killed on May 25, and former officer Chauvin was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder. Rioters have destroyed numerous businesses as well as the building of Minneapolis’s 3rd police precinct, of which Chauvin was a member.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has called to send the National Guard into the city to quell the unrest.
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