CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is searching for the suspect who broke into an east Charlotte beauty supply store early Wednesday morning. Making it worse, this is not a new occurrence for the business.
The front glass window at CosmoProf was shattered. That is where the thief or thieves made their way in, getting away with several items.
CMPD officers and K-9 units were seen searching in a neighborhood just a few miles away.
For the beauty supply store, this is another loss that hurts them and breaks customers' hearts.
“It’s just really sad that they come here and vandalize this place, and it is somewhere I shop,” said Kashirah Jackson, a south Charlotte resident. “It makes me sad for my safety and the safety of the workers because they are really nice. It’s just really sad.”
CosmoProf was broken into around 5 a.m. according to the police report. It’s not clear just how many people were involved in the burglary.
Several boxes of trimmers and clippers were stolen from the front shelves. WCNC Charlotte learned it’s not the first time the store has been targeted by burglars going after the same products.
“When I came the last time, they already had the wood covering the door,” said Jackson.
The city of Charlotte has experienced an increase in commercial burglaries according to CMPD’s safety report. In 2022 CMPD responded to 2,118 incidents. That number jumped up to 2,365 in 2023.
In this year’s first quarterly report from January to April, CMPD reported 538 incidents compared to 433 for the same time period the previous year.
The next quarterly report is expected in a few weeks.
Jackson said she hopes the thefts are handled so CosmoProf doesn't close its doors permanently.
“I think we’re not going to have physical stores and we are going to just have to shop online,” she said. “It’s really convenient for hair stylists to come here and shop, but if they keep doing this I don’t think we are going to have a physical shop to shop in, honestly.”
Business continued Wednesday with a boarded entrance, but the signs of the crime linger.
“There are so many avenues to go down other than something like that to make a living and I hope they would reach out and get help for whatever is going on,” one customer said.
No arrests have been made at this time.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.