Buffalo Resident Fires Gun to Defend Store from Looter during Winter Storm
A Buffalo, N.Y., man with a firearm defended a store in the city against a looter looking to take advantage of the deadly winter storm that roared through the region over the weekend.
A robber was attempting to break into Skys the Limit Hair & Beauty downtown when a crowd of angry, bundled-up residents, some holding brooms and sticks, approached the scene. One man produced a large gun and fired two shots in the general vicinity of the shop, as seen in video footage posted to Twitter.
Store owners protecting their business
One begins firing toward the end of the video— The Daily Sneed™🕗 (@Tr00peRR) December 26, 2022
“That was one of the neighbors that probably had business in the area,” the manager of the store “speculated” to the New York Post. “As far as I know, he shot in the air to scare them off. Because I guess he was sick of them breaking into one of the businesses across the street or something. He just don’t want them to break anything anymore.”
Buffalo saw a spike in criminal activity during the dangerous blizzard, with the police department saying Wednesday that nine arrests had been made “in connection with with winter storm business break-ins.” An Anti-Looting Detail was dispatched to curb the lawlessness erupting in the city.
“These defendants are accused of looting stores while our police and first responders were working to save lives during this horrific storm. These were not crimes of desperation, but crimes of opportunity to steal items from unoccupied stores during a blizzard. My office will prosecute these offenders to the fullest extent of the law,” John Flynn, the district attorney for Erie County, N.Y., told WGRZ.
As a result of the blizzard, 37 people died in Erie County, officials told CNN. Buffalo suffered the worst of the weather, receiving 43 inches of snow as of Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at a press conference on Monday that the thieves weren’t seeking out necessities and essential supplies to endure the harsh conditions but rather expensive goods such as TVs and couches.
“People who are out looting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm . . . it’s just absolutely reprehensible. I don’t know how they can live with themselves,” Buffalo mayor Byron Brown said during a joint press conference with New York governor Kathy Hochul on Monday.
