Shattered Dreams: Richmond Business Owner Overcomes Attempted Robbery to Reopen Store

In the early hours of Monday morning, a business owner in Richmond was left dealing with the aftermath of an attempted robbery. The Richmond Police Department reported that three suspects had tried to break into a store off of North 8th Street just before 1 a.m.

In their attempt to gain entry, the suspects used a stolen Honda Accord to slam through the front of the business. The store that was damaged in the incident was Tom Kirkland Opticians. Owner Thomas Kirkland has been working tirelessly to clean up since the incident occurred. He noted that he hasn’t gotten much sleep or eaten much because he has been focused on securing his store.

Despite the incident, Kirkland has remained optimistic and determined to reopen his store. He has been selling eyeglasses at his store since the 1980’s and is grateful for the support he has received from both the city and the community. Kirkland is currently working to reopen his store in the next couple of weeks and is encouraging anyone who stops by to leave a positive message on a message wall in his store for the City of Richmond. Anyone with information on the incident or the suspects is asked to contact the Richmond Police Department.