RIVERDALE, Ga. — A Beauty Mart in Clayton County was evicted on Wednesday, leaving merchandise from inside the store scattered in a pile in the parking lot.
According to court documents, the owner of the property had the renter evicted over $15,000 of back rent owed.
Clayton County Sheriff's Office deputies formed a perimeter outside the dumped merchandise, which was also roped off by tape at the location along Upper Riverdale Road in Riverdale. From wigs to eyelashes, jewelry and beauty supplies, hundreds of people were crowded around, wondering why they couldn't take anything that was evicted from the store.
A few people among the masses explained what they were doing there, and the consensus was pretty clear:
"We like free stuff, so we came out here to get all this free stuff, but then the cops saying you can't get the free stuff because the people want to take it," said one woman at the Beauty Mart. "How y'all gonna take some stuff that ain't even yours? It's free!"
"So I got my two baskets and took the bus or whatever to get down here and get some free stuff," said a man in the parking lot.
"We're already in a recession. Times are hard. Why not just let us get the items and invest and be OK?" another woman asked.
"We are Black women. We care about our crown. Why not give back to the community and let us get our products? Let us get the tools. Any other eviction..." another woman at the scene said.
Since police have been holding off people from the merchandise in the middle of the parking lot, about half a dozen dump trucks and several trailers showed up to help haul off the merchandise.
11Alive's SkyTracker flew over the scene, showing a number of people lined up around the pile of merchandise and near the store's entrance.
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