Heavy Gunfire Heard Across Snowed-In US City as Looting Erupts
After western New York was hammered with historic blizzard conditions that claimed multiple lives, the New York State Police have confirmed that several looting incidents have occurred.
According to WGRZ, multiple reports of looting incidents in the Buffalo area went viral across social media as the blizzard swept across the region, making conditions especially dangerous. One video received extra attention — as the person narrating it claimed local Arab business owners had opened fire on alleged looters.
“#BREAKING #URGENT #Buffalo Arab business owners in buffalo resist against looters with heavy gunfire Shocking video from Facebook shows looters in Buffalo being shot at in the streets tonight. You can hear gunfire throughout the video. No word on injuries from the shooting,”
Warning: The video in the tweet below contains strong language and graphic content that some readers may find offensive and disturbing.
Arab business owners in buffalo resist against looters with heavy gunfire 🚨
Shocking video from Facebook shows looters in Buffalo being shot at in the streets tonight. You can hear gunfire throughout the video. No word on injuries from the shooting pic.twitter.com/uORZsUC2fe
— Royal Intel 👑 (@RoyalIntel_) December 26, 2022
In another video that appeared to be filmed from a patrol vehicle, looters can be seen hauling trash bags full of goods out of a corner store. The person, presumably a police officer, at one point yelled, “Drop it all, and you won’t go to jail.”
There are reports of looting at multiple locations in Buffalo, New York following a deadly winter storm. pic.twitter.com/49T5WvolD2
— I’m No Angel (@HappyCamper2626) December 26, 2022
“There are reports of looting at multiple locations in Buffalo, New York following a deadly winter storm,” the caption of the tweet read.
New York state leadership, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, held a news conference to discuss the unfolding situation on Sunday night. WGRZ said it was aware of multiple looting incidents but noted that the state police, alongside the governor and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, would only confirm at the time that a two looting incidents had taken place.
“We have had two confirmed reports of looting incidents where law enforcement has been dispatched and responded,” New York State Police Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli said.
“Those are still under investigation as we speak. Those are isolated incidents, and it’s not reflective of the great community of western New York, and I’m sure that they’ll be limited to those two incidents or at least that’s our hope,” Nigrelli added.
The looting came as the death toll from the historic storm, which dumped multiple feet of snow across western New York, continued to rise.
According to Fox Weather, at least 25 have perished due to the storm as of Monday morning.
Poloncarz tweeted, “25 storm related fatalities have been confirmed to date by the Medical Examiner’s office. Please remember not all fatalities are storm related, but 25 have been officially confirmed. Again my deepest, sincere condolences to all who have lost a loved one.”
25 storm related fatalities have been confirmed to date by the Medical Examiner’s office.
Please remember not all fatalities are storm related, but 25 have been officially confirmed.
Again my deepest, sincere condolences to all who have lost a loved one.
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) December 26, 2022
Some of the 25 victims of the winter storm were found frozen while others were found deceased in their vehicles.
According to officials, the area is still under a state of emergency.
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