Sam's Meat Market is just one of many Black-owned businesses in the town of Ferguson, MO that became victim to looters as a result of the recent chaos caused by the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teen shot six times by a white police officer. Looters reportedly ransacked the entire store.
Located at 9241 West Florissant Ave in the St. Louis suburb, the store was looted several times over the course of several days and the store's owners eventually had to resort to using their own weapons to guard their merchandise from being stolen. But there were not the only ones. Peaceful protesters posted many, many disappointing messages on Twitter and Facebook, saying that they saw beauty supply stores, liquor stores and electronic stores being looted.
Also, included among the looted stores were a QuikTrip gas station, a Family Dollar store, Ferguson Market and Liquor, Dellwood Market (in nearby Dellwood, MO) and more.
Not all of the businesses were Black-owned, but many were
Even worse, individuals stealing from these businesses reportedly attacked and threatened journalists and bystanders who were videotaping them.
After long, many of the peaceful protesters began standing in front of the businesses in an attempt to block looters from coming in. In some cases, it worked. In other cases, it didn't.
Volunteers are pitching in
As for Sam's Meat Market, several volunteers have been helping the owners clean up and restore the business. Tony Katz, a popular radio host from Indianapolis, reportedly ordered 100lbs of ribs to show support towards the business.
Meanwhile, other local business owners say they don't even know if their businesses will survive this ordeal. Fortunately, though, according to the Insurance Information Institute, most insurance policies do cover looting and rioting.
To view more pictures of the looting and protesting, visit
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726609/Stores-looted-including-one-slain-teen-Michael-Brown-allegedly-stole-cigars-sixth-night-confrontation-Ferguson-St-Louis-police-ordered-stand-Highway-Patrol.html