Al’s, a sporting-goods store tucked in Wilmington, Delaware’s small shopping district, opened during the Great Depression, weathered World War II and has been able to keep workers on the job during the coronavirus pandemic. But this past weekend delivered a new challenge.

Owner Bob Hart closed the 17,000-square-foot shop at 4 p.m. Saturday as protesters walked Market Street, blocks away. A few hours later, around 8:15 p.m., the first of the store alarms went off. Looters who followed the peaceful demonstrations broke windows at the store and stole the majority of Hart’s inventory, including about 10,000 pairs of shoes.

Hart is among business owners digging into the details of their insurance policies to see what losses might be covered. Hart said he’s confident his claim will be successful, but that doesn’t make the process an easy one.

“For every item I’m missing, I have to supply an invoice. That could be real tough,” he said, with some items purchased a year or two ago. “You just gotta try to work through it.”

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