TOLEDO, Ohio — Clean up at a local barbershop that was ransacked and had the N-word spray-painted on one of the walls started Sunday morning when community volunteers came together to undo the damage done.
The owner's wife, Amanda, said she's gone through a roller coaster of emotions over the last week.
"(It's been) really rough, disappointing, upsetting, a little bit emotionally exhausting. Just to see something you work so hard for destroyed," the wife of the owner of Finishing Touch Hair Pros said.
She said having this happen to their shop is like starting over from the beginning.
"Flooring, painting, trying to scrub the things off the wall... Spraypaint off the wall, the fixtures. We have a shampoo bowl they tore off the wall, I mean, just different things," Amanda said.
The community learned about what happened after shop regulars posted about the incident on social media.
On Sunday, people stopped by to extend a hand and help pick up the pieces. Even some who had never been to the shop were there to assist.
"Just to see that there are good people in the world, I mean yeah, there's bad in the world too and we can't ignore that. We can't ignore that fact, we can't turn a blind eye to it, but we also don't have to let that be the final say," Amanda said.
Volunteers scrubbed graffiti off the walls and mirrors, while others helped by donating snacks and water. The shop's owners removed shelves and moved barber chairs to prepare for a full refurbishment.
There's still a lot of work for them to do and volunteers will be returning Monday at 11 a.m. to help clean up again.
Amanda said that both she and her husband are appreciative of all the support, positive messages and love that's been shown. They also plan to create a Facebook page to notify the community about ways they can help the business rebuild.