Buffalo winter storm: Police searching for hero credited with saving several lives
A man who police are calling 'Merry Christmas Jay' broke into a Buffalo-area school and brought several people inside to shelter them from the storm
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police are searching for a man who broke into a Buffalo-area school on Dec. 23 – not to charge him with any crimes, but to thank him for his selfless actions that likely saved several lives and two dogs during last week's brutal winter storm.
The man, who police are calling "Merry Christmas Jay," left a note explaining that he broke a window on Friday evening so that he could bring several people inside Pine Hill School in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga.
"I'm terribly sorry about breaking the school window [and] for breaking in the kitchen," the note reads.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Got stuck at 8 p.m. Friday and slept in my truck with two strangers. Just trying not to die. There were 7 elderly people also stuck and out of fuel. I had to do it to save everyone and get them shelter and food and a bathroom."
Police want to thank a man who broke into a Buffalo-area school to save several people during last week's brutal winter storm. (Cheektowaga Police Department)
The man left a note explaining why he broke into the school and signed it, ‘Merry Christmas, Jay.’ (Cheektowaga Police Department)
A keyholder at the school had received an alarm about a break-in on Friday evening, but police couldn't immediately respond due to the deteriorating weather.
WESTERN NY DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO CLIMB AS WINTER STORM RAGES ON
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When an officer eventually made it to the school later that weekend, he found the note from "Merry Christmas Jay."
Individuals took shelter from the storm inside Pine HIll School last Friday and Saturday. (Cheektowaga Police Department)
The group ate food from the kitchen and used the gym for their kids to play in, then cleaned up after themselves before they left, police said. (Cheektowaga Police Department)
When the Cheektowaga Police Department pulled surveillance footage from inside the school, they "witnessed people taking care of people."
"There was a freezer full of food but no one touched it. They only ate what was necessary to stay alive. They used the gym for the kids to play and pulled the smart boards out of the classrooms to watch the news for updates," the Cheektowaga Police Department said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They had 2 dogs they were also attending to. When they were finally able to leave safely, you never would have known anyone was there."
The high wind blows the snow across a neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)
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At least 39 people died from the winter storm, which pounded Buffalo on Friday and Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The National Guard was going door to door in New York's second-largest city on Thursday and officials warned that more bodies could be found.