Residents in one Oregoncounty have decided to illegally stop unfamiliar drivers at gunpoint as an evacuation order demands people leave their homes as wildfires rage across the state.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said people in the county are stopping cars at an armed checkpoint in order to “protect property,” CNN reports.
- “We have a group of different individuals that are actually trying to protect property. They actually have been armed and are stopping individuals within the commune out there,” Roberts said, according to Fox News. “First thing I’d ask them to do is please stop that. We have reached out to a number of them. If they see somebody suspicious, call us. Let us handle it. It is illegal to stop somebody at gunpoint.”
- “Many of the people we have seen going into these areas are actually going in to get another load of their personal belongings,” Roberts said. “The last thing I want to see is something tragically happen because somebody is overreacting to something they believe is criminal and it’s not.”
Some of the many warnings residents have posted between Colton and Estacada. @fox12oregon pic.twitter.com/gOstHelXH0
— Devin Eskew (@Devin_Eskew) September 12, 2020
Rogers said there has been a 400% increase in calls for suspicious people since the wildfires first started, according to CNN.
Rogers said anyone who see suspicious activity to call 911 and let law enforcement handle it, The Oregonianreports.