‘Afraid and unsafe’: Downtown Sacramento businesses react to mass shooting
By Orko Manna
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Businesses near 10th and K streets in downtown Sacramento, normally a center of nightlife, have been impacted in several ways following the city’s horrific mass shooting.
Nails Galore was closed early Sunday morning when the mass shooting occurred. Still, owner Helen Le told KCRA 3 said it was extremely frightening that it happened so close to her business of 17 years. Now, Le is worried for her safety, especially in the evenings.
“It’s so scary,” Le said. “I’m just lonely over here walking and the business, I get out here, it’s dark.”
Le said she has also noticed a smaller crowd of customers in recent days, explaining that the shooting has instilled a feeling of being “afraid and unsafe.”
Capital Books has also seen a noticeable slowdown. Owner Ross Rojek said business has dropped by 50% in two days’ time.
Despite the tragedy, Rojek still believes downtown Sacramento is a safe area overall, but he noted some employees were shaken up by the violence, and they have not returned to work yet.
“Different people are going to have different times it’s going to take to process this,” Rojek said.
Right now, Rojek is focusing on helping the community heal. He set up a window display in his storefront with encouraging messages. The flowers included in the display were donated by Bloem Décor Florist.
The flower shop placed a bin of bouquets right outside their front door in memory of those lost, and staff were encouraging passersby to bring them to a growing memorial for those killed in the shooting, located on the corner of 10th and K streets in front of Sharif Jewelers. It served as a way for the community to show its support – a sentiment felt by The Blue Ox, another nearby business.
“I just hope this brings people in Sacramento a lot closer, to pretty much support each other and to look out for each other,” The Blue Ox marketing manager Brian Rios said.
Rios also shared a message to families affected by the shooting: “We’re all there for them and we’re really sorry for everything that happened.”
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