A Cleveland business owner whose cupcake shop got destroyed on Saturday night by rioters said that during the Chinese virus pandemic, she couldn’t have imagined her business getting “hit worse than ever.”
Colossal Cupcakes — a popular vibrant and colorful cupcake shop located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, Ohio — was completely “destroyed” by rioters on Saturday evening, according to a report by Fox 8 News.
“A gunshot went off and the main window went down. Protesters started pouring into the store,” said Kelly Kandah, the owner of Colossal Cupcakes, to Fox 8.
Kandah, who lives nearby her cupcake shop, said that she rushed to the store to close it down upon hearing that rioters were on the move in the city. At the time of closing, four employees were still inside the shop.
“I thought if they saw me there, they wouldn’t want to hurt anyone,” said Kandah. “But they started throwing bricks and paint cans and stuff at me and the staff. We hurried and rushed into the back bathroom but they kept coming through the windows.”
From there, the store owner barricaded herself with her four employees inside the bathroom and locked the door. She then called the police.
“It was horrible,” she said. “We were just listening to them destroy everything. I was so scared in so many ways.”
Kandah said that she and her employees remained locked inside the bathroom, only to come out after hearing that police had entered the cupcake shop.
“Everything is gone or destroyed,” said Kandah of what remains of her store. “The chandeliers are ripped down, the actual cupcake cases are gone. They took our princess chairs and used them to destroy other cases.”
“There is nothing left in there, just glass,” she added.
“We just got through what I imagined would be our hardest time, the COVID crisis,” said Kandah. “I never imagined we could get hit worse than ever.”
Other businesses in the area were also broken into on Saturday night, including the Cleveland Indians Team Shop and CVS, according to Fox 8.
Riots taking place in cities across the country appear to be in response to the death of George Floyd, who died on Monday after former police officer Derek Chauvin was seen pressing his knee onto Floyd’s neck.
On Friday, the state of Minnesota announced that Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Following Floyd’s death, days of protests ensued, which quickly devolved into the violent riots that are now taking place across the country. The riots have involved looting, buildings being set on fire, businesses destroyed, the White House going on lockdown, and people being beaten and killed.
The riots have prompted the mayors of several cities across the country to issue curfews in an attempt to quell the chaos, with some even calling on their state’s governor to activate the National Guard for help.
On Saturday, Ohio governor Mike DeWine activated the state’s National Guard to help respond to the violent riots in Cleveland.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will be designating the violent leftist group Antifa as a terrorist organization.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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