A group of alleged looters confronted store owners bearing guns, insisting they be let inside the establishment.
Fox 11 recorded the situation unfold in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday as a group of six people argued with store owners, who were holding long guns, about breaking into the store. The store owners, good Samaritans, and journalists all tried to flag down police as they drove by the scene.
“There’s a standoff here arguing about why they can’t break into the place,” a Fox 11 reporter said during the broadcast.
Police soon arrived but appeared to confuse the looters with a group of people helping the store owners, allowing the group of six to run off while attempting to detain the community members who were assisting with protecting the store. The anchor described the situation as “surreal.”
Protests have spread across the country in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, while he was in police custody last week. In some cases, rioting, property destruction, looting, and clashes with police have occurred during demonstrations.
Now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and could face additional charges this week. Three other officers involved with the arrest have been fired from the force but have not yet been charged.
The riots stemming from Floyd’s death have prompted some store owners to defend their stores with guns, including at an Ohio family bakery.
An owner of Corbo’s Bakery, Joe Corbo, and his two sons armed themselves with guns and were able to drive off rioters over the weekend.
“We don’t want any trouble. We don’t want you guys in here damaging our property. We’re just protecting our business, and truthfully, I would say maybe 80% of them understood. They left us alone and kept walking, and then, there was that 20% that just were accusing us of some things and crazy things that just weren’t true. We weren’t there to hurt anybody or cause a problem. We were just protecting our business,” co-owner Selena Corbo said.
