Community Rallies to Help Street Vendor Robbed of Savings in front of Daughter With Autism

People are rallying together to help a Los Angeles street vendor who was robbed in front of his 8-year-old autistic daughter.

Jose Carbajal, a Colombian t-shirt vendor, was recently able to save $2,200. He planned to use this money to rent an apartment to live in with his daughter since they currently live in a motel.

However, a group of masked men robbed Carbajal, taking his money, passport, car registration and credit card.

As reported by KTLA, the robbery occurred on Saturday, September 2 at around 3 p.m. Carbajal parked his car and was selling his products near Broadway and Manchester Avenue. The vendor was with his daughter.

As videos show, several thieves came up to Carbajal and robbed him of “everything” he had. The worst for him, though, was no longer having money to rent an apartment.

The vendor explained to NBC4, “It’s very difficult because my daughter has a special condition and what I most want is to have her in a stable home. I was saving every dollar for that, and losing everything in a split-second hurts.”

Some incredible news, though? The GoFundMe set up for Carbajal and his daughter has now raised more than $42,000.

The vendor was robbed of all his savings in front of his young daughter

A video posted of the harrowing incident shows how several thieves robbed Carbajal in broad daylight.

TikTok user Edin Alex Enamorado spoke to the vendor, who told him he was “roughed up” but doing “okay.” Carbajal is also gladly “able to continue to provide for his daughter.”

In this clip, you can see how the thieves threw Carbajal on the floor, taking his items and running away:

The t-shirt vendor told NBC4 in tears, “They took everything.” He also told the outlet that he felt what seemed to be a weapon on his back.

Carbajal also remembers how he didn’t want to let go of his money because it was all he had. “I held on tightly to my bag to not let them take the money I had because it was my savings, but they took all the money.”

Incredibly, though, the vendor stayed positive for his daughter’s sake. He explained to KTLA, “I look at it as I can’t let it affect my personal life.“

“I need to continue moving forward. I have a daughter who depends on me, and failure is not an option,” he added.

Carbajal also had some thought-provoking words for the thieves. “My message to them is may God continue to bless them,” he said. “One day, it will not go so well.”

Carbajal also spoke about the dangers many street vendors face every single day. He advised fellow vendors to be “safe” and “smart,” while also staying productive. He described to KTLA, “It’s a dangerous job, but we need to continue doing this.”  

Adding, “All of these people out here, we all work very hard to sustain life for our families, as I do for my daughter.”

While this incident was deeply troubling, the vendor recognizes that he doesn’t have the option to stop. “I am going to keep working,” he explained to NBC4. “I do it all for my daughter.”

L.A. police are currently investigating the robbery.

The community is coming together to help Carbajal get back on his feet

The silver lining to this story is our comunidad’s immense support for Carbajal and his daughter. His story has clearly touched many people. So much so, that the vendor’s GoFundMe page is at over $42,000 — even though it started with a $1,000 goal.

Edin Enamorado seemed to have set up the GoFundMe page for Carbajal, writing that the vendor is “the only one with access” to it.

Enamorado wrote, “Jose is from Colombia and he is a single father. The mother [of his daughter] is back in Colombia. If you’d like to support in person he sells on Broadway and Manchester in Los Angeles near the Bank Of America.”

Over in another interview with NBC4, Carbajal says he feels over the moon from all the support.

“The community’s support has made me feel good,” he described.

“It makes me feel like Los Angeles’ support is a very beautiful thing.”