'Utter chaos Maui residents say they are being looted, 'robbed at gunpoint' as wildfires rage
“When your children and [you] are here starving after almost burning to death and the police won’t let people drive in to give you necessities, you may turn to desperate measures,” a resident said.
Some Maui residents say they have been looted and robbed at gunpoint while catastrophic wildfires rage on the island — leaving them begging for a greater response from authorities as thieves make off with vital supplies.
As rescue crews work to deliver necessities such as water, food, and first aid to those in need, locals say some residents have grown so desperate waiting for help that they’ve resorted to stealing.
West Maui residents blame the robberies in Lahaina on the fact that they feel abandoned without supplies or answers.
Jeremy Aganos, who owns the restaurant Coconut Caboose — one of the few buildings that survived the fires on Front Street in Lahaina — told KITV it was “utter chaos” for people trying to find food, water and shelter.
An Oregon resident told the outlet that their relative flew into Maui to donate water, food, household items and clothing — only to be robbed at gunpoint soon after his arrival.
The startling uptick in crime has left residents slamming local leadership for its inaction in the wake of the catastrophic fires, which have become the deadliest in the US in more than a century as nearly 100 people have been reported dead so far.
“There’s some police presence. There’s some small military presence. But at night, people are being robbed at gunpoint,” Matt Robb, co-owner of a bar in Lahaina called the Dirty Monkey, told Insider.
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https://nypost.com/2023/08/14/maui-residents-claim-people-being-looted-robbed-at-gunpoint/
