A small business owner in East San Jose is speaking out after her business was burglarized twice early Wednesday morning.
The incident happened just after 5 a.m. at Bizzy Fit Meals located on McKee Road. Surveillance video captured the moment someone in a hoodie shattered the window of the business.
“Tried this one, that didn't work, and then got to this one and this is the one that just completely shattered,” said Susana Torres, owner of Bizzy Fit Meals.
Torres said two people went in and one of them took the cash register. When Torres realized what happened, she called police.
Officers responded and waited for Torres to get there. When she went back to look at footage, she realized that shortly after the first burglary, someone else walked by and went in through the window that was broken. Video showed the person leaving with aprons in their hands.
“A person in the right state of mind isn’t going in to steal a $25 apron," Torres said. "It just doesn’t make any sense, right? These are people that are making choices in their life because they’ve hit rock bottom. What I think about is them. What is the reason that they're there? How could they get better? What can we do as a community?"
The business is located in San Jose’s District 3, an area of the city that Torres deeply cares about. Torres grew up in the area and decided to start Bizzy Fit Meals to help people who are underserved make healthy life choices.
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Torres added that she wants to see change and knows businesses won't be able to survive if this keeps happening. Change could come soon as residents in District 3 will be taking part in a special election on Apr. 8 to replace former Councilman Omar Torres, who resigned in November.
“I keep telling people, 'Please go out and vote,'" Torres said. "It is so important because if we just complain but we don’t vote, we’re not really helping."
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Meantime, Carl Salas is temporarily serving as councilman of District 3. He said he was saddened to learn a small business was broken into.
“Small business owners like Suzy are the backbone of our community, and they deserve to feel safe in their place of work," he said in a statement. "My office remains committed to working with law enforcement, city departments and local businesses to improve safety and prevent these crimes from continuing."
