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29 January 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Gentlemen’s Shop Co-owners Chris “Drama the Barber” Davis and Joshua “Choppa the Barber” Ligon have spoken out after their barbershop in south Wichita had racist remarks graffitied on it over the weekend. The Wichita Police Department is investigating.
The two noticed the graffiti when they arrived at work Saturday morning.
“I don’t even think what was on we can say on TV,” said Ligon. “It’s really disrespectful, and it was racial slurs on the side of our building.”
They took care of it within hours.
“I went straight to the hardware store,” said Ligon. “It was taken care of after we noticed it happened, ’bout an hour to two hours it was fixed and taken care of.”
“It was completely covered and everything by the time we actually got moving for the day,” said Davis.
The two are both South High School graduates.
“We opened up this business and this neighborhood for that reason, to be able to cater to the community that we grew up in,” said Davis. “We do haircuts for picture day for kids. I mean, we do everything that we can for this community.”
“We do free veteran’s haircuts on Veterans Day, we do clothing and food drives at Christmas time,” said Ligon. “The Urban Gentlemen Program, I mean, we’ve got all these things.”
The two say they have never before experienced something like this. Davis says the whole situation is sad.
“You know you put a lot of time and effort and motivation into what your passion is, you know what I mean, and you pour a lot of money to have things and the whenever, so somebody can mess it up just that easy,” said Davis.
The two plan to upgrade their security system.
“We’re not the only business in this strip, so we’re all gonna work together to get something done. We already talked with the gentleman who owns the shop on the end and the lady that owns the shop on the other end and the restaurant next door, and we’re gonna, I mean, look out for each other,” said Ligon.
Ligon says they will be taking their tools home in the meantime.
“We gotta take it home with us to make sure we can come back and do what we need to do next week for work,” said Ligon.
The Wichita Police Department is investigating.
WPD Chief Joe Sullivan said as soon as he heard of the graffitied racial remarks, he immediately sent investigators and crime lab personnel to speak with witnesses, collect any possible evidence, and collect surveillance footage that can help identify those responsible for this despicable and hateful act.
“Let me be clear. I am committed to utilizing all available resources at my disposal to track down the person or persons responsible,” said Sullivan. “Additionally, I’ve contacted our federal partners at the FBI, making them aware of this intolerable and disgusting incident.”
If you have any information, the WPD asks you to call them at 316-268-4407.