Community rallies behind Italian ice store and youth program vandalized with messages of hate

By Amanda Rose

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — A man was caught on camera allegedly attempting to break into ‘Glacier’s Italian Ice’ on Friday night by throwing a rock at the front door.

“I saw it was a grown man and then I went closer and saw somebody that I knew. I was like, whole range of emotions,” said Matthew McKinney, the store’s manager.

McKinney, who manages the shop on Martin Luther King Junior Drive, says he watched the chaos unfold.

He didn’t engage with the accused vandal, but knew he lived nearby.

Police say they arrested Abreu Williams for disorderly conduct and say it appears he was suffering a ‘crisis.’

“It has brought out so many emotions from frustration and anger to compassion and empathy,” said Ian-Elmore Moore, the shop’s owner.

Ian-Elmore Moore says Williams also drew swastikas on the shop’s storefront defacing murals displaying themes of peace and love.

Moore says this shop is about more than selling ice, it’s an after school program for underserved youth. They tutor and mentor kids, with a focus on character building and leadership development.

“We hire young men ages 14 to 17 in the community. They want to show that they’re being able to provide and protect and we want to give them that outlet to do that,” Moore said.

A Gofundme created over the weekend has raised over $9,000 for the shop’s repairs, to purchase additional ice carts, and hire more mentors.

Moore says he’s grateful for the support and wants to turn this setback into a teachable moment.

“Getting back up, overcoming obstacles, overcoming challenges, meeting it squarely in the eye and doing it from a place of compassion,” he said.

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