An Indian-origin family, who owned a car dealership in Kenosha, suffered a loss of over $2.5 million after their business was destroyed in a fire allegedly set by a mob during protests over the police shooting of a 29-year-old black man, the Kenosha News reported.

It said that Anmol Khindri, a member of the family who owned the dealership “Car Source”, estimated the losses from the fire to be over $2.5 million.

The owners are now “desperately seeking” help to recover their losses, the report said.

Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer on August 23 and remains in a hospital. The dealership was attacked when a mob descended into its lot and begin smashing cars on the first night of unrest last Sunday. There was an explosion and the subsequent fire spread from one vehicle to the next, one resident told Kenosha News.

Khindri said police notified him of the damage, but he feels little was done to prevent it. “Everybody watched it burn to ashes,” he said. “Nobody did nothing about it — nothing.”

Khindri said he is at a complete loss as to what he should do next as insurance is not providing any immediate help.

“I have a family to feed. I have 20 other families who have worked for this business over the last eight or nine years.”

Khindri called for more protections for local businesses currently suffering from the impact of circumstances out of their control.

“It’s easy for the government to say ‘alright, guys, you’re on your own. I’m sorry, your insurance doesn’t cover it. Oh, I’m sorry for your loss’. No, that’s not an answer. This happened because they let it happen.” A report in Fox News quoted Khindri as saying that the trauma of losing the business is “horrific”, adding that the insurance company has failed to provide immediate support and, as of last week, the destruction was labelled as “domestic terrorism”.

The Fox News report said that prior to the destruction, Car Source had more than 140 vehicles available for sale, according to its website.

Afterwards, a video showed the charred remains of dozens of cars — with only a few left unscathed.

The report added that Josie Rodriguez, a resident of a house adjacent to Car Source, recalled seeing a mob descend into the lot and begin smashing cars. The business was allegedly attacked twice and the total loss is estimated at $2.5 million.

Charred scraps and shattered glass littered the area, where other downtown buildings had been badly damaged nights before. Rodriguez said it was a “terrifying time”.