A beauty salon owned by a Cuban couple that was due to open in early May in Miami was the victim of an arson attack that left the premises with damages estimated at around $45,000.
A video from a security camera installed in the area captured the moment when Two subjects approached the establishment around 4:00 am on Thursday. The images showed how first one of them approached and touched the glass.
Minutes later the same individual returned with a rock in his hand and after breaking the window, he threw a flammable liquid and set the premises on fire.
It was a person who was working in a nearby business who, after noticing the smell, immediately called the firefighters and those affected.
“We ran as soon as we received the news. We have a four-year-old girl and we had to wake her up and we went out with her. When we arrived the firefighters had already put out the entire fire,” she said in statements to America Camel Indira Ortega, owner of the affected business.
When reviewing the security camera video, The couple had suspicions about who might be involved, information that they provided to the authorities.
“The police have not given us many answers. We told him who we think it could have been. At the moment he is a suspect, nothing concrete. “They are doing all the investigation,” the woman added.
The business is located on 97th Avenue and 40th Street in the southwest of the county and the damage to the establishment represents a great loss for the couple, who had invested a lot of time and effort in seeing Indira’s dream of having her own establishment materialize. eyelash extensions, The Grand Lash House.
Alejandro Ortega, Indira’s husband, stated that the ceiling, floor and walls were greatly affected. “We have a lot of work left to do,” he noted in reference to the effort they are having to face to recover.
The young owner stated that The insurance became effective on May 5, the date on which the premises would be inaugurated, which is why the damages are not covered.
“We didn’t think it was appropriate to put insurance on it before because what can you imagine that you haven’t opened and something could happen inside your premises,” lamented Indira Ortega.
This Friday they received a visit from family and friends who are helping them clean and pick up the debris. They also opened an account on the collection platform GoFundMe intended to raise funds to help them pay the cost of repairs.
“We have to stick with the same opening date because we are not going to give the pleasure to those who came to destroy my business to prevent that from happening, and we want it to be the same date”concluded Indira Ortega.
The owners of other establishments in the shopping plaza regretted what happened to the couple and were grateful that beyond the smoke and other setbacks, their premises did not catch fire thanks to the quick intervention of the firefighters.
“In minutes the firefighters arrived, thank God, because if not, the shopping would have been over. My workshop smells a lot like smoke, the clothes are quite full of smoke and for me it is a miracle from God, otherwise it would have been catastrophic,” said Mélida Carantón.
“Thank God that they really warned in time, we are very sorry for them and here we are cleaning, because the smell of smoke affects us and we have no other choice, thank God we have a location, which is the most important thing,” he commented for his Esther Reyes, owner of another business in the shopping plaza.
Authorities ask anyone with any information about those responsible to contact the Miami-Dade Crime Stopline at (305) 471-8477.
It is the second time in a few weeks that Cuban residents in Miami-Dade County have reported arson attacks in their establishments.
At the end of March a barbershop of a young Cuban resident in Hialeah was destroyed after a fire caused by two people who threw a Molotov cocktail at the premises.
In that case the furniture, the ceiling, the walls and the glass Fresh Parras Barber Shoplocated on First Avenue and 49th Street in West Hialeah, were destroyed.
The incident was recorded on the premises’ security cameras, which managed to identify Miguel Reyes Junior y Alberto Lázaro González, who were arrested in connection with the event.
In that case, the owner of the barbershop, Cuban Jariel Esquivel, had acquired the business approximately a month and a half before the event and stated that He would not give up and would start his business from scratch again.
