AKRON, Ohio — Some Akron business owners woke up Thursday morning to find their properties damaged, with windows shattered and glass scattered across the sidewalk at three restaurants in the Highland Square neighborhood.
The damage came just hours after police used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of protesters on Copley Road demanding justice for Jayland Walker. Protesters also marched on West Market Street in Highland Square.
RELATED: Police deploy gas canisters, pepper spray on Jayland Walker demonstrators on third night of protests
Wally Waffle, Irie Jamaican Kitchen and Chipotle all had broken windows from rocks or bricks being thrown, police said.
Shards of glass littered the area in the early morning hours. The windows were boarded after daybreak.
Phillip Nabors, who owns the building, was frustrated by the vandalism.
"I'm sad about it. I understand there's frustration in the community, but the answer is not to go pick on small business," Nabors said. "Sometimes people put their anger in places where it doesn't help fix it. I think this is an example of that."
Wally Waffle confirmed on Facebook it opened just three hours late at 10 a.m. Thursday in spite of the damage.
The Evans building downtown on Exchange Street also had one window damaged overnight. Several other downtown businesses boarded up windows ahead of the grand jury's decision.
Police said there were ten arrests during demonstrations Wednesday night, including a woman who was charged with vandalizing the Highland Square restaurants.
RELATED: Downtown Akron businesses seeing fewer customers since grand jury's decision
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