Popular San Francisco LGBTQ nightclub hit by armed robbers
A popular LGBTQ+ nightclub in San Francisco experienced a frightening gunpoint robbery.
Surveillance footage showed robbers, covered from head to toe, using crowbars to pry open a door to get inside Oasis nightclub at the corner of 11th and Folsom streets in the South of Market neighborhood.
It happened early Thursday morning just after 5 a.m. while three workers were cleaning up.
"(The robbers) didn't realize our cleaning crew was in there. And so once they got in, there was sort of the surprised confrontation of people in the building. And that's when the guns came out," said club owner D'Arcy Drollinger.
Drollinger said the gunmen ordered all three workers to the floor and robbed them of their wallets and phones.
"They basically (demanded), 'Where is the safe? Where is the safe?' (The workers) told them where the office was and they broke the office door down," said Drollinger.
Drollinger said the footage showed four robbers. They broke the internet equipment to disable the surveillance cameras.
Drollinger said they then ransacked the office, but couldn't open the safe.
He said while the workers were lying on the ground, the robbers made themselves comfortable.
"They drank the Red Bull and tequila, broke a couple of bottles. They did find our most expensive bottles of alcohol and stole all of those," said Drollinger.
He said the robbers were in there for about 15 minutes and left without harming the workers.
Drollinger estimated the loss and damage cost around $10,000. He also learned right before the Oasis robbery, a group of people attempted to break in to the nearby SF Eagle Bar, a historic gay leather bar.
Owner Lex Montiel said their alarm scared the bad guys away. But it was the second attempted break-in within a month.
He wants police to step up patrols in the area.
"Right now, I think that the city is going through a terrible situation about safety and security," said Montiel.
Drollinger is San Francisco's first-ever drag laureate and serves as an ambassador for the LGBTQ community.
He opened Oasia in 2015 to create a safe space. Now, it's one of the most popular venues for drag shows and other live performances.
"I want people to be able to come here and escape reality for a few hours. And I need to protect this space," said Drollinger.
He's now working to increase security so Oasis continues to be a safe space.
"Anytime something like this does happen, your first initial instinct is 'Oh, it can happen again," said Drollinger.
Police are working to see if the Oasis robbery and the attempted break in at the Eagle Bar are connected.
The two businesses said while there's no evidence of a hate crime, it's disturbing that robbers targeted two LGBTQ+ businesses around the same time.
Drollinger launched an online fundraiser to replace items stolen from the cleanup workers and to pay for the repair costs. So far, supporters have contributed over $20,000.
