A number of businesses in downtown El Cajon reopened on Monday morning, three days after closing over fear of potential protests.
The shops and restaurants were encouraged by a downtown business association to close on Friday afternoon, at about the same time that police and the San Diego County district attorney released video of the shooting of an unarmed man.
The video showed the police shooting of Alfred Olango as he held a vaping device and readied himself in a shooting stance to two approaching officers.
Over the weekend, protests in El Cajon and San Diego were mainly peaceful, though 17 people were arrested in connection to downtown San Diego’s demonstration.
On Monday morning, it appeared to be business as usual on Main Street in El Cajon, as several businesses were opening up. One business was even boarded up, though it wasn’t clear exactly why.
One eatery, the New York Bakery, chose not to close at all, and the owner even said he saw an uptick in business over the weekend.
One El Cajon resident told NBC 7 he was relieved things were getting back to normal.
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“I’m just happy that events have passed and they passed peacefully from what I understand,” Bob Hatton said. “And now we can come back to downtown El Cajon.”
