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‘Lowest of the low’: Looters run amuck in snowbound Buffalo as cops focus on emergencies, saving lives

December 27, 2022 | | Print Article

A powerful Christmas weekend blizzard pounded Buffalo, dumping nearly six feet of snow on the upstate New York city while creating conditions that were ripe for exploitation by criminals who used the historic weather disaster as an opportunity to loot retail stores with video footage of the descent into chaos going viral on social media.

With much of the nation being slammed by the storm which sent temperatures plunging, disrupted holiday travel and led to the cancelations of thousands of flights, few areas were hit harder than Buffalo, a city directly across the border from Canada, which experienced the full fury of Mother Nature in what is being described as a “once in a generation” storm with at least 27 people already reported dead stemming from the brutal conditions.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as residents were trapped in their homes with the more unfortunate being stranded on roads, many of which were unpassable due to the heavy snowfall. And as police were busy with rescue and assistance efforts, the looters ransacked stores in another sad example of how crime in the Democrat-controlled state isn’t limited to the mean streets of New York City.

(Video: The Daily Mail)

“I don’t know how these people can even live with themselves, how they can look at themselves in the mirror,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to reporters on Monday. “They are the ‘lowest of the low.”

Among the videos posted to Twitter show the criminals streaming out of a Dollar General location carrying stolen merchandise, showing no concern of being confronted by police as some roll carts filled with loot down the snowbound streets as their thievery is recorded by a shocked citizen from a vehicle.

Another video shows the wreckage in the aftermath of the looting spree, with broken windows and merchandise strewn across the floor in a Buffalo-area store.

Other scenes of criminality from the frozen tundra where lawlessness reigned and emboldened thieves walked off with stolen goods.

Some of the thieves even filmed themselves in the act, possibly making it much easier for prosecutors to make their case once law enforcement analyzes the footage.

(Video: The Daily Mail)

One Twitter user noted that the looting was being “significantly downplayed” by local media, with multiple incidents easily found by doing a simple Facebook search.

Additional video posted to social media showed the grim scenes of the storm’s victims as well as police pulling bodies off the streets, footage so gruesome that it has been marked with a warning by Twitter.

Not all looters got away as one video on Twitter showed police making a pinch prior to the thieves being able to make off with a carload of plundered goods.

According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz at a Monday news conference, police are investigating reports of looting.

“I’m heartbroken about the deaths, just absolutely devastated to see as many deaths,” he said. “And then to find out that there’s looting going on in our community at the same time we’re still recovering bodies is just horrible.”

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Chris Donaldson
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