‘Let my building burn!’ Owner of Minneapolis restaurant that caught fire when police precinct was attacked during riots says he doesn’t care about the damage as long as George Floyd gets justice
- Gandhi Mahal Restaurant, located just around the corner from the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, said on Friday it ‘caught fire and has been damaged’
- Hafsa – the owner’s daughter – asked for customers not to worry about the restaurant, adding that they would eventually rebuild and recover
- The owner of the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant – Ruhel Arshad – was watching the news as Hafsa wrote the post, his daughter shared
- ‘I hear him say on the phone; “let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail”,’ she added in the post
- The post comes just hours after the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct – located just under 450ft away from the eatery – went ablaze
- Protesters’ fury over the death of George Floyd – seen pleading for breath as officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on him – intensified late Thursday
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A Minneapolis restaurant owner is standing in solidarity with protesters after his building suffered fire damage, declaring that ‘justice needs to be served’ in the death of George Floyd.
Gandhi Mahal Restaurant, located at the 3000 block of 27th Avenue and just around the corner from the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, took to Facebook on Friday to share that the eatery ‘caught fire and has been damaged.’
‘We won’t lose hope though,’ said the restaurant owner’s daughter, Hafsa, in the post. ‘I am so grateful for our neighbors who did their best to stand guard and protect Gandhi Mahal, You’re efforts won’t go unrecognized.’
Gandhi Mahal Restaurant, located at the 3000 block of 27th Avenue and just around the corner from the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, took to Facebook on Friday to share that the eatery ‘caught fire and has been damaged’
A Google street view of the building prior to it being burned down
The post has been well received since it was initially posted on Friday
Hafsa asked for customers not to worry about the restaurant, adding that they would eventually rebuild and recover.
The owner of the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant – Ruhel Arshad – was watching the news as Hafsa wrote the post, his daughter shared.
‘I hear him say on the phone; “let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail”,’ she added in the post.
‘Gandhi Mahal May have felt the flames last night, but our fiery drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die! Peace be with everyone. ‘
Awnings from the restaurant were completely destroyed after the protests swept through the arera
The owner of the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant – Ruhel Arshad – was watching the news as Hafsa wrote the post, his daughter shared
‘I hear him say on the phone; “let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail”,’ Hafsa added in the post
The back parking lot of the popular restaraunt
Since its initial posting, the statement has received well over 5,500 shares and has been inundated with messages of support.
The post comes just hours after the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct – located just less than 450 feet away from the eatery – went ablaze after protesters took to the streets for the third night over the killing of the 46-year-old father by four police officers.
Thick smoke was seen rising over the city as firefighters worked to contain a number of blazes early Friday morning and National Guard troops blocked access to streets where businesses had been damaged.
They marched side by side and block by block as they expanded a perimeter around a heavily damaged area.
Pictured a woman holding a Black Lives Matter sign up in front of a closed street leading to the Gandi Maha
Water is sprayed inside the Gandhi Mahal Restaurant as protests continue on the next streets
Businesses next to the eatery were also destroyed
A car sits in the parking lot in the back of the eatery and has been destroyed by the fire
Protesters’ fury over the death of Floyd – who was seen in video pleading for breath as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against him – intensified late Thursday night when rioters broke in and set fire to the police station, roaming through its corridors with baseball bats, axes and torches.
President Trump responded to the carnage late Friday morning in a tweet saying ‘George Floyd will not have died in vain’, after threatening to ‘assume control’ of Minneapolis with military intervention and warning ‘thugs’, ‘when the looting starts the shooting starts.’
‘The National Guard has arrived on the scene. They are in Minneapolis and fully prepared. George Floyd will not have died in vain. Respect his memory!!!’ he tweeted.
Trump has been slammed for his response to the protests in the city.
The post comes just hours after the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct – located just under 450 feet away from the eatery – went ablaze after protesters took to the streets for the third night over the killing of the 46-year-old father by four police officers
Floyd was seen in video pleading for breath as white officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against him
Twitter flagged President Trump’s tweet saying it was ‘glorifying violence’ for a second time after the official White House account reposted it Friday morning.
‘These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!’ the tweet read.
Trump initially posted it from his @realDonaldTrump account at 1 a.m. Friday.
The company attached a warning label to the tweet saying that it violated the rules.