Early Thanksgiving morning, a group of burglars used a pickup truck to slam into a South Los Angeles barbershop and steal thousands of dollars, equipment and the owner’s pet cat.
The business’ losses from the robbery amount to $14,000. The entire front entrance was destroyed, and the incident was captured on camera.
They also took the owner’s cat, whom he described as a member of his family.
“Yeah, I feel I lost a family member. Yeah, I lost a family member and I fear that I’m not going to get him back,” said Joe Gómez, the barbershop owner.
In a matter of moments, three masked people stormed into a barbershop located in the 1800 block of East Florence Avenue.
“They took all of our machines, our barber machines and tools to cut hair and our inventory. Along with an envelope of money that I had for our NFL fantasy football league,” Gómez said.
But they also took his pet, Simba.
“He’s a Savannah cat, so not many people have those cats and he probably wanted him to sell them or something.” Gómez said.
Residents of the area expressed concern, saying it’s not the first time they’ve seen criminal activity in the neighborhood.
“What happened was that the young man was here ordering with his mother and brother,” Juan Manuel Barrón, a worker in the area, said in Spanish. “They broke in and ripped off his chain.”
He says that around this time of year, these kinds of incidents tend to happen more often in the area.
“But it’s always like this here, it’s even worse at this time of year, always, because the Christmas holidays are coming up, and they’re out looking for trouble here,” Barrón said.
For Gómez, material things aren’t the most important thing, as he says they can be replaced. He just hopes that whoever did this will return his pet safely.
“To the burglars that came in and took Simba, my Savannah cat, I hope you guys bring them back. I just want my family member back. So if you can please bring Simba back,’ Gómez said. You know, it’s Thanksgiving and I’d be thankful for that.”
Gómez has already reported the case to the authorities, who are investigating. He is simply hoping that whoever took his pet will return him safe and sound.
Source: NBC Los Angeles