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Portland business owner cites rampant crime for closing store

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(NewsNation) — A business owner in Northeast Portland, Oregon, shuttered her store for good, citing rampant crime, theft and 15 break-ins in the last year and a half.

Rains PDX owner Marcy Landolfo told a local ABC affiliate that she is at her breaking point.

“Those break-ins are not covered by insurance, because insurance drops you,” Landolfo said on NewsNation’s “Prime.” “So it’s, it’s a double-edged sword of what’s happening, and you just have to decide when you’ve had enough.”

Small business owners put everything that they have into their businesses and the decision to close isn’t one taken lightly.

“My final straw really was thinking about my employees’ safety,” Landolfo said. “During all of this, you know, you’re focusing on the 15 break-ins I’ve had after hours. But I’ve had countless other very dangerous interactions.”

Landolfo finally closed and posted a blistering note on the store’s door.

“Our city is in peril,” the note read. “Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished.”

Landolfo said nobody is going after the criminals.

“And that therein lies the problem,” she said. “Is that the criminal behavior, they know it will not be punished.”

Landolfo’s note said she simply can’t sustain doing business in Portland.

“Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses,” her note continued. “We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.” 

Rains is just the latest store in Portland to close. According to reports, Nike’s first factory store, which opened in 1984, closed earlier after an uptick in incidents of crime. 

Watch the full interview with Marcy Landolfo in the video player at the top of the page.