A small gaming business in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a black man was shot by police over the weekend, announced it was closing after it was looted and “destroyed” by rioters in the city.
“For those that heard,” Gravity Gaming Lounge posted on Facebook this week. “We got looted. Everything in the store was taken and the place was destroyed. For a business that was struggling to get back to normal and pushing through these hard times we will not be able to come back from this. The damage to our building and the cost to replace the exterior damage and to top it off to replace everything stolen is going to be catastrophic.”
“As we look to see the total costs, at this point we will be closing down completely. We want to thank everyone coming out and supporting us these past couple of years they have been great and we have definitely had fun. We wish everyone the best and pray you stay safe,” the statement continued.
Jacob Blake, 29, was shot in Kenosha on Sunday night after he reached into his SUV during an arrest. He is currently in the hospital and is reportedly paralyzed from the waist down.
The shooting has sparked looting, arson, and rioting in the city for two nights in a row this week.
The morning aftet in #Kenosha pic.twitter.com/LZRNQOe8MO
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) August 25, 2020
Burning garbage truck outside #Kenosha County Courthouse: pic.twitter.com/QaSWg79MUU
— Richie?McG? (@RichieMcGinniss) August 25, 2020
Gov. Tony Evers deployed the Wisconsin National Guard on Monday to help local law enforcement contain the unrest.
“This is a limited mobilization of the National Guard focused on supporting the needs of local first responders to protect critical infrastructure, such as utilities and fire stations, and to ensure Kenoshians are able to assemble safely,” Evers said.
The ACLU condemned Evers’s move, saying residents should be able to exercise their right to protest.
“Deploying the National Guard in response to people exercising their right to protest is unnecessary. People in Kenosha have a constitutional right to express their indignation over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, as well as to demand an end to the epidemic of police violence that has systematically harmed and killed Black and brown people for generations,” the ACLU of Wisconsin said in a statement.
