(Photo: Richmond Police Department)
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond business owner is trying to recover from an attempted robbery that happened early Monday morning.
According to the Richmond Police Department, just before 1 a.m., three suspects attempted to break into the business along North 8th Street by crashing through the front of the store in a stolen Honda Accord.
The store affected in the incident was Tom Kirkland Opticians, and owner Thomas Kirkland said he’s been working to clean up the store ever since.
“I wasn’t getting much sleep, I wasn’t eating much because I had to stay safe,” Kirkland said.
Police said the three suspects crashed into the front of the business multiple times in an attempt to break in, but were unable to get inside and fled the scene before officers arrived.
Kirkland has tried to stay optimistic since the incident.
“We’re not closing. We’re going to reopen,” Kirkland said. “But before that, we have to get this problem resolved, but we’re still working. We’re still here. We’re still here because we want to serve our customers.”
Kirkland said he has been selling eyeglasses at his store on North Eighth Street since the 1980s. He said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from the city and the community.
“People are coming by, stopping their cars, getting out, taking pictures, making sure I’m OK,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland says he hopes to reopen the store within the next few weeks, and in the meantime, he encourages anyone who stops by the store to leave a positive message if they can.
“We’re going to have a message wall and little pins up here. [for] “We hope people will come out and write positive, good messages for the city of Richmond,” Kirkland said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident or the suspect’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Richmond Police Department at 804-646-6820.
