Fernando Roman answered his cellphone.
"Yeah, I'm OK. Thank you," said the owner of Ted's Musicians Shop in Mount Vernon. "They stole some things."
The day before, looters had broken into his Centre Street store during rioting after the funeral of Freddie Gray. Gray died a week after sustaining a spinal cord injury while being arrested in West Baltimore.
Independent music stores form a small community, and the caller — the owner of a Wheaton shop — was checking in on Roman, a neighborhood fixture.
Roman, 64, who was born in Colombia, bought the store in 1989 from the widow of Ted Martini, the original owner. A brother, Alvaro, 63, helps out in the shop.
Oversized red block letters still spell out "TEDS" above the storefront. Roman said he kept the name because he didn't want to disconnect from the history of the store, which opened in the 1930s. The store's repeat customers include former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who plays in a Celtic rock band.
"He plays the guitar and he'd come in to have it fixed when he was Baltimore mayor," Alvaro Roman said.
The shop sells and rents guitars, drums, violins, violas, clarinets, saxophones and other instruments. Violins and violas hang on the wall, and shelves are stacked with music books.
But plywood covered the space where the showroom window had been.
On Monday night, rioters used a brick — and, Fernando Roman believes, an old speaker sitting near the front of the store — to shatter the display window. They also kicked in the glass door.
Roman said he watched as they emptied the cash register and also took "about three saxophones, a couple clarinets, a trombone." Afterward, the register lay toppled on its side behind the counter. The brick rested on a wooden desk.
The soft-spoken owner didn't appear distraught. He smiled easily and said the store would reopen almost immediately. It was open for business the next day, Alvaro Roman said.
Nearby stores, including a tavern and a law office, were also vandalized.
The Romans have been through trying times before. In 1990, a fire caused extensive damage to the shop.
A photographer taking pictures using a camera with an old-fashioned flash bulb got too close to an old drum, which ignited.
But the store remained open and the brothers' message then was the same as today: "We're still here."
Fernando Roman answered some questions about the business.
What happened Monday?
The store was closed. I shut down about 3:00. I was inside here. I closed the doors and turned out the lights. It was about 14-15 guys. They hit the main door with their foot and the guys came in. They also broke the showcase. They knew I was the owner and they threw stuff at me. They threw a fire extinguisher. I ducked. They took all the money out of the cash register. It happened so quickly. They were in for maybe five minutes.
Can you talk about buying the store?
I am from Colombia — Bogota. I came here in 1963. My father was already here. I had been working here already and I bought it from the owner's widow for $150,000, I think it was. I live next door.
Are you a musician?
No. My father played music and my uncle, too. My uncle played the violin and then also my father played the saxophone. I'm a business person. But I manage a Latin band. It's called Grupo Latino Continental.
How is business?
It's off and on. It's been kind of down a little bit. We sell, we rent. We do a little bit of everything. Guitars are the most popular instrument. We have customers who have been coming for a long time.
What were your thoughts after the looters had gone?
That it could have been worse. And whether they would return. I didn't think this would happen here.
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Fernando Roman
Title: Owner, Ted's Musicians Shop
Age: 64
Residence: Baltimore
Education: Catonsville Community College, University of Maryland
Birthplace: Bogota, Colombia
Family: Married (no children)
Hobbies: Soccer, Latin music