TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa police are asking for the public's help to identify a man seen setting fire to the Champs Sports store during this weekend's protests.
The man held up what appeared to be a burning shirt, throwing it through a broken window of the store on Fowler Avenue. Champs Sports largely burned to the ground, resulting in thousands of dollars worth of damage, the Tampa Police Department said.
Damage was reported there and at many businesses Saturday along Fowler Avenue, Busch Boulevard and elsewhere as peaceful protests during the afternoon turned violent as some people threw objects at law enforcement. Tampa and several cities nationwide have been experiencing unrest since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Several Tampa-area football players and others returned to Champs Sports on Sunday to help clean up the mess.
“We just kind of did it,” Cadi Molina said. “It was kind of funny … we walked right past the yellow tape and the [Hillsborough County] Sheriff Chad [Chronister] was out there. We didn't get bothered by nobody. People saw us out there. They didn’t bother us. They helped out.”
Anyone with information about the damage at Champs Sports is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS.
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