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A business manager in Madison, Tennessee, said he was tired of the theft, harassment and aggressive trading in his neighborhood of the suburb of Nashville.
Mena Girgis, who manages Carlos Wireless at Gallatin Pike Road in Madison, said crime has been a major problem for months and has been negatively impacting the local economy, according to local Fox affiliate WZTV.
“They harass people who enter the shop, or they go out into the square,” Girgis said of the beggars.
“They ask people for money, harass them for money, sometimes they steal,” the store manager continued. He said he still feels unsafe even after cameras are installed and metal is placed over the glass.
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Nashville, Tennessee, at sunset (iStock/iStock)
Due to nighttime safety concerns, Girgis said he is closing his shop an hour earlier than before.
“Customers, they sit in the cars waiting for them to leave because they are afraid to go into the stores, to get out of the car. We lose customers that way,” Girgis said.
Girgis spoke to the outlet in August about some of the measures he has taken to deter homeless people from camping outside the store, such as spreading motor oil out the front.
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Girgis said the Metro police presence has improved since the August story, but he would like more to be done, such as better lighting on the street and in the parking lot.
“We are calling now and they are responding very quickly,” Girgis said of the police. “I see them running all over the place all day. Sometimes they stop across the street in the parking lot.”
The Broadway area of downtown Nashville has seen an increasing number of assaults, harassment and acts of aggression in recent years. (Nina Dietzel via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Metro police told the outlet they are paying attention to conducting additional patrols in the Madison area where Girgis’ store is located.
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The Broadway area of downtown Nashville has also seen a rise in assaults, harassment and acts of aggression in recent years, prompting the city to announce last spring that it is working on a plan to address homelessness issues. suits, according to WZTV.
