MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Surveillance video obtained by WREG showed the moment Winfield’s on Main got vandalized.
It showed one by one, people coming up to the window before a large crowd descended on the store, smashed the glass and took items from inside.
Owner Carl Winfield declined to speak on camera but told WREG he watched it all happen from a nearby building.
He did not think the people who did it were connected to the organized group of protesters who marched by about ten minutes earlier. He he also did not think his business was targeted.
The incident happened after midnight, he said.
“I don’t think broken glass has anything to do with what’s really going on. It’s like a distraction,” customer Cornelius Meadows said.
Many would agree with Meadows, as most of the weekend protests remained peaceful. But violence eventually occurred, according to Police Director Michael Rallings.
“In the past 48 hours we’ve had 10 businesses vandalized, three police cars vandalized and three incidents of officers being shot at. This is unacceptable,” Rallings said.
That vandalism was present at Walgreens, Family Dollar and Flight restaurant Monday morning.
One business owner was too afraid to identify himself on camera, but said he constantly checked his cameras Sunday and is worried about what will happen in the future.
He wanted the protesters to know he agreed with their message.
“Everybody has a part of it. We gotta think about what were going to do next as a community,” he said.
Carl Winfield said the store would likely be closed for two weeks. He said the biggest cost would be the window and he did not lose a lot of product.
Memphis Police said they’re investigating the vandalism but did not have any suspects for the incident at Winfield’s.