Arrests made after stores looted amid continued unrest in downtown Los Angeles
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Several stores in the downtown Los Angeles area were hit by looters, and several people were arrested as the unrest following days of anti-ICE protests continued overnight, authorities said.
The stores were ransacked overnight, including the Shoe Palace on Main Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Video from the area showed officers tackling a suspected looter.
Suspected looters also hit many stores on Broadway, including an Adidas store, an Apple Store, two dispensaries, a pharmacy and a jewelry store, police said. It's unclear what was taken.
Buildings and police vehicles were also defaced, authorities said. Buildings were seen with graffiti in about a 10-block radius downtown.
Glass doors and windows were shattered. Crews were seen early Tuesday morning working to clean and board up some of the targeted stores.
Daylight video from the Apple Store shows plywood placed over a broken window and over the doors.
An Eyewitness News crew at the scene spotted a lot of broken glass up and down the sidewalks. A lot of people walking their dogs mentioned being worried about their dogs stepping on broken glass.
Cleanup efforts are underway throughout the area.
Authorities said officers made some arrests, but additional details or an exact number of arrests were not available.
"These are looters. Call it what it is. These are looters. This has nothing to do with the protest. These are opportunists that decided to come loot the neighborhood," said downtown L.A. resident Daniel Fabiano. "Now the neighborhood is going to suffer. The businesses are going to pay for it, we're going to pay for it, and it's all for nothing."
Authorities staged at least four major intersections in the area with police presence overnight, but they left in the early hours of Tuesday.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass addressed looting at a recent press conference.
"You can't possibly be supporting immigrants and vandalize our city," Bass said. "Understand that if you do that... you will be arrested. And it might not happen that day, so don't think because you went home that night, that you are free. There's a lot of videotape, there's investigations that will take place, and you will be held accountable -- and frankly, need to be separated from the people who are really fighting on behalf of our immigrant community."
