The Flamingo Ink Tattoo shop is out thousands of dollars, and they are asking for Lubbock’s help to catch the bad guys.
“Normally here, there would be a piece of glass, which is double sided, so they broke both pieces of glass,” said Lacy Jo Bradshaw, pointing to the glass door the thieves broke through. Bradshaw is an artist and apprentice at the shop.
For Lacy, tattooing isn’t just her passion, it’s her livelihood. But, recently, it’s been harder for her to do her job after a break-in at Flamingo Ink Tattoo.
“I wanted to cry. I just don’t know, I couldn’t believe that someone would think it’s OK to take someone’s livelihood from them,” said Bradshaw.
The suspects took thousands of dollars worth of ink, needles and tattoo machines.
“This is where, this drawer would have been completely full with my tubes and grips. They were all taken,” she said.
Some artists’ tools were safe after locking up their equipment. Others weren’t so lucky.
“His machines were in there, which I can’t even give an estimate. Probably at least $500 a machine, and there were probably six of them in this box,” Bradshaw said.
For now, other tattoo shops are lending them equipment and ink, so they can keep the shop open.
“We’ve been sharing stuff, we have friends around town who have lent us stuff,” she said.
They hope to have their own equipment back soon.
“A lot of people at other shops are keeping an eye out. It’s not just police doing their job, we’re all doing it,” Bradshaw said.
Police believe the break-in happened between Friday night and Saturday morning. If you were in the area of University Avenue and Auburn Street and saw any suspicious activity, they’re asking for you to come forward with that information.