After Mrs. Plasket had been forcibly evicted from Surprise Bakery by the proprietor Samuel Tonicci, her screams attracted the attention of passersby. 200 Harlem locals quickly gathered, and after hearing Mrs. Plasket's claims that she had been kicked in the stomach by the owner, proceeded to smash the glass front of the shop. The mob also repotedly threatened to lynch the white proprietor. The proprietor later claimed that his bleeding neck and chin wounds were caused by a butchers knife that the mob had throw through the shopfront, although it is believed that the wounds may have been caused by the flying glass. After Tonicci was charged by the police, the front of the bakery was occupied for some hours by picketers who warned potential customers of the afternoons' events.