Owners of 8Ball Oakland skate shop devastated after business burglarized
Oakland skate shop owners devastated after store is burglarized
Owners of an Oakland skate shop are devastated after they say a thief burglarized their business. They say they poured their savings into the downtown store. One of the owners says he lost his bartending job during the pandemic and that the skate shop gave him something to look forward to.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The owners of 8Ball, a skate shop in downtown Oakland said their business was burglarized over the weekend and that they're devastated.
They said they poured their hard-earned savings into the business.
The break-in was captured on surveillance video.
Tayo Fasusi, one of the owners, said he was a bartender who lost his job during the pandemic.
He said his shop gave him a sense of purpose.
He and the other owners shared with KTVU surveillance videos of the burglary.
They said they opened 8Ball just over a year ago.
"It's kind of a little baby that we've created," said co-owner Terrence Bradley.
Surveillance videos show a man throwing an object at the glass door, breaking in early Sunday at about 4:20 a.m. The video also showed the suspect leaving the scene in a white truck after stealing 10 to 15 skateboards, accessories, clothing, an iPad and a blue Fuji bicycle.
"It was like glass everywhere. It's like we've been violated," said Fasusi.
He estimated the loss to be thousands of dollars.
"During the quarantine, we put our money together, pretty much all our savings. We opened this up, not really to make a lot of money," Fasusi said.
He and Bradley opened the shop to share their love for skateboarding.
The owners said they would host block parties and that their neighbors, including other merchants, have been warm and welcoming.
"These are all donations from friends and everyone in the area," said Bradley as he displayed piles of clothing still in packages.
The owners said they're grateful for the support from neighbors and friends after they learned about the burglary.
People have donated merchandise and money.
"It's really amazing. It's definitely helped alleviate the tension and the pressure of what we have to do," said Fasusi.
The owners said don't recognize the man and they don't know if he had an accomplice.
The owners said they started a GoFundMe to help improve their security system and recover some of their losses.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on facebook @AmberKTVU, instagram @AmberKTVU or twitter @AmberKTVU