It was 10:30 p.m. Friday and 19-year-old Alexa Huizar was working inside D-town Burger Bar Los Angeles when she heard windows being smashed.
Huizar stepped outside and saw a crowd breaking into the Starbucks at the corner of 6th and Spring streets.
She immediately texted her boss a video of the demonstrators breaking into the Starbucks.
At home, in South Gate, Pedro Mojarro, 32, got it and rushed over. He would spend the next few hours protecting his struggling business during a night and morning of looting and vandalism.
He pleaded with anyone who came by not to damage his restaurant.
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Protesters stand on top of a burned LAPD cruiser. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters stand on top of a bus stop at the Los Angeles Civic Center to demonstrate for justice Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Protestors turn on their cell phone flashlights at Los Angeles City Hall at 9 pm on Wednesday as part of a silent protest against the death of George Floyd. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
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A protester confronts National Guardsmen as thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles to demonstrate for justice in the George Floyd murder by cop case Wednesday. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters dance on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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Thousands of protesters march down Spring Street in Los Angeles Wednesday night to demonstrate for justice in the killing of George Floyd. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
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LAPD Cmdr. Gerald Woodyard takes a knee with protesters and L.A. clergy during a march in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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Khalil Mitchell speaks to protesters kneeling near a police line, preaching calm and working to preserve a peaceful protest on Monday. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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In Hollywood, hundreds of protesters march Monday against police brutality. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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AJ Lovelace, a director and writer, and others keep potential looters from entering a dry cleaning store as they attempt to march peacefully. “We need peace and we need someone to talk to each other,” he said after the looters fled the scene. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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Demonstrators in Riverside retreat as county sheriff’s deputies fire nonlethal rounds on Monday after law enforcement announced an unlawful assembly. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Hollywood during a protest Monday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A demonstrator, injured while trying to flee the firing of nonlethal rounds, lies on the ground in Riverside. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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An LAPD officer arrests a looting suspect in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Riverside County deputies advance on demonstrators on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fireworks thrown by a protester explode at the feet of Riverside police. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco takes a knee with demonstrators. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A watch and jewelry store is looted in Van Nuys on Monday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A looting arrest in Van Nuys. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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AJ Lovelace, director and writer, tries to stop looters from breaking into a Walgreens in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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An LAPD officer arrests a suspected looter in an alley behind a Hollywood Boulevard store. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Police advance on a line of protesters in Hollywood, firing rubber bullets. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Arrests are made of those out after curfew in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A store is looted in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in Hollywood. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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People out after curfew are arrested Monday at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Arrests in Hollywood. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Protests in Westwood. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Volunteers help clean up the mess left by looters in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Protest in Hollywood. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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National Guardsmen outside Santa Monica Place. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Gilbert Haro and sons Richard, 8, and James, 6, help clean up in Santa Monica. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters face off with police in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Santa Monica stores were the target of looting on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Suspected looters in custody in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. County sheriff’s deputies in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Sake House employee Jared Settles can’t bear to watch as the restaurant burns in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Broken glass from a looted store covers the sidewalk in Santa Monica. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Cecelia Rosales, who said she was homeless, walks past a line of police officers in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A man guards a convenience store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting erupted Sunday in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Police and protesters face off in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A police officer inspects the damage to a Santa Monica supermarket. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester is treated after being struck by a rubber bullet. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting in Long Beach on Sunday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Looting in Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A suspected looter in Long Beach. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Smashing windows in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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An arrest in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People walk away with surfboards in Santa Monica on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People rush out of a looted store in Santa Monica. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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Cheers for protesters in downtown Los Angeles. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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City Hall on Sunday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A shattered storefront on Melrose Avenue on Sunday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Smashed windows on La Cienega Boulevard. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Downtown L.A. on Sunday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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People carry merchandise from a looted store. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A person carries items from a looted store in the Fairfax District on Saturday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple of protesters embrace on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles Saturday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
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People protest Saturday at Pan Pacific Park. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters gather around a fire in the middle of a downtown L.A. street on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Police fire percussion rounds to clear protesters from Grand Avenue in in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester remains defiant after being pushed to the ground by police on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters are arrested by Los Angeles police in front of City Hall on Saturday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters take to the streets Friday in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters are escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester is escorted off the northbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters climb over a barrier during the May 29 protest in downtown L.A. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Police officers assume a defensive stance as a protester approaches them on the 110 Freeway on May 29. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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During a May 29 protest, Los Angeles police patrol the 110 after having moved protesters off the freeway. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester rides a skateboard on the 110 Freeway. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block the 110 Freeway northbound and southbound in downtown Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester confronts LAPD officers on Friday in downtown L.A. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A protester lies hurt on the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles on May 27. (Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
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An injured man gets up with the help of emergency workers during a protest May 27 in downtown L.A. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
“If you’re not standing outside of your businesses, they’re going to break into it,” he said.
Mojarro said he supported the demonstrators but he didn’t like that they were targeting businesses.
“We’re with you, I’m not against you,” he said. “If you need to protest go do it in front of the police station. Be angry at them.”
The protests were in response to the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. His encounter with police began Monday night after Floyd, a black man, was accused of trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store.
Cellphone video of Floyd’s arrest outside the business shows Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, driving his knee into the 46-year-old’s neck as Floyd pleads that he can’t breathe. After several minutes, Floyd appears to lose consciousness, and a bystander can be heard yelling that Floyd’s nose is bleeding. Even as paramedics arrive to check Floyd’s pulse, Chauvin’s knee remains positioned on the man’s neck in the video.
Mojarro said he was mostly upset that the demonstrators didn’t take into consideration how difficult it has been for businesses like his.
He said he had to shut down his second business in Boyle Heights because of the coronavirus outbreak. A month ago, someone broke the window of his burger shop in downtown L.A., which ended up costing him $7,500. On top of that, sales at his restaurant were down by more than 70%.
“Give us a break,” he said. “We got a lot going on already.”
Along 6th Street, between Spring Street and Broadway, residents watched from their lofts and apartments, sometimes egging on demonstrators as they drank beer and recorded video of the chaos.
In the downtown loft district, jewelry stores were hit. One person offered a reporter a handful of stolen jewelry. A nearby CVS pharmacy was looted, as were other businesses elsewhere in the city.
Some pleaded with demonstrators not to damage their cars parked on the street. Almost every wall on a building was tagged with profanity and anti-police statements
Fireworks were set off on the streets, the sparks hitting buildings. The smoke filled the air and protesters became looters, breaking into stores stealing tennis shoes, clothing and electronic items such as televisions screens and speakers.
Demonstrators broke into jewelry stores, rushing in and smashing display cases and taking anything that may have been left out. Jewelry lay on the sidewalk and street and people stopped to scoop up some of it, others began distributing to other people or telling others where to go loot.
“You need tennis shoes? Just go up the street, you can get whatever you want,” one man told another.
One business on 6th Street had a signed that read “Black owned.” The windows of the salon next to it were broken.
It was 2 a.m. and Mojarro and Huizar were still standing outside of the restaurant, taking video as protesters ran up and down the street, smashing things.
Asked what he wanted demonstrators to know: “I’m just a business owner trying to survive.”
