Man accused of shooting as customers wait to buy bourbon at Buffalo Trace Distillery
A man was arrested after he allegedly fired a gun outside Buffalo Trace Distillery Saturday morning, as patrons were lined up waiting to buy special bottles of bourbon.
The Frankfort Police Department said they were called to the distillery at 6:56 a.m. about a single shot fired at the distillery. When they arrived at 6:59 a.m., they said they found the man “who appeared to be intoxicated” and immediately took him into custody.
Customers often line up in the Buffalo Trace parking lot hours before the gift shop opens, because the distillery releases one of its allocated whiskeys each day, and collectors try to snag a bottle of something that might be hard to come by at a reasonable price. Weekends are typically busier than weekdays.
The man accused of firing the shot, James E. Ande, of Caneyville, is charged with first-degree wanton endangerment with aggravator (drugs), public intoxication, trafficking marijuana with aggravator (firearms) and possession of an open container in a motor vehicle, police said.
“This is an isolated event and the Frankfort Police Department does not believe there is any other concern for public safety with regards to this incident,” police said in a Facebook post.
Jon Lauth wrote in a post shared to the Facebook group Buffalo Trace Daily: What Is Sold Today And Predictions For Tomorrow that the man “came barreling into the parking lot from the back way, down the road behind the fence at high speed. Parked in a handicapped spot and went to talk to someone he knows in line. They went back to his car, and the driver pulls out an AR-15 and discharged a live round into the air. After that, he put the rifle back and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and drank some more.”
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