Looters and Would-Be Shooters, A Common Theme in US Disaster Zones

Looters and Would-Be Shooters, A Common Theme in US Disaster Zones
Matthew Little
Updated:

A Texas homeowner is warning would-be looters that if they try to rob his house, it could be their last.

“You loot, I shoot,” reads a spray-painted sign on a front lawn in Portland, Texas, just across the bay from Corpus Christi.

Local TV news station KIII didn’t interview the man, but found neighbors supported the sentiment, even if they didn’t want to put a sign up themselves.

“We’re in a state of disaster,” said one mother, wishing to keep her face and name out of news.

“If I needed to shoot somebody to protect my stuff, if they broke into my house, I think that’s appropriate.”

But even though she said she was ready to take that kind of action to protect herself and her family, she could also understand what might drive someone to loot.

“When you have people that have lost everything, you need food, you need clothes, people get desperate and you go into that kind of mindset,” the mother said.

While other neighbors supported the sentiment—suggesting that if someone breaks into their house, “they’re asking for it”,—another man said the sign might have gone too far.

“I don’t think you need to threaten people like that, but if you’re that person doing those kind of things -- you run the risk.”

A house in formerly flooded neighborhood of Eastern New Orleans in 2005 warns looters of potentially deadly consequences. (Infrogmation/Wikimedia Commons)
A house in formerly flooded neighborhood of Eastern New Orleans in 2005 warns looters of potentially deadly consequences. Infrogmation/Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Little
Matthew Little
Author
Matthew Little is a senior editor with Epoch Health.
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