Amish Robbed at Gunpoint: Suspect Targets Two Buggies In PA Community

Buggies on the road make seemingly easy targets for armed robbers. But often enough, they end up getting caught.

That might be bad news for a suspect who has been targeting Amish buggies in northwestern Pennsylvania. From WFMJ:

A 30-year-old man from Mercer told police that a small black sedan stopped in front of his buggy. A male suspect, described as a white male wearing dark clothing and a medical mask, approached him with a firearm and demanded his wallet. The victim gave the suspect his wallet, and the suspect fled in the sedan.

While at the scene, troopers were contacted about a similar incident on Leesburg Station Road. A second victim, a 22-year-old New Wilmington man, reported that a small black sedan drove alongside his buggy and demanded his wallet. The buggy driver refused to give the suspect his wallet, and the sedan drove away.

The victim told police that the suspect was in the passenger seat, was a white male wearing dark clothing and a medical mask and was holding a firearm. Byler was unable to describe the driver of the sedan.

We saw this last year a similar story to this out of Ohio last year (as well as Tennessee and other places in the past). The robber in that case was quickly apprehended. Hopefully that’s what we’ll see here too.

Stealing From The Amish Isn’t As Easy As Criminals Seem To Think

I’ve written before on stealing from the Amish is not a great idea. That was more about breaking-and-entering crimes, but the same idea applies.

Ironically (?) that post was written after a series of break-ins of Amish properties in this same general area – Mercer County. Here’s the relevant bit (from “Thinking About Stealing From The Amish? Think Twice”):

99.9% of people reading this would never think of committing such crimes against the Amish.

But on the off-chance that a potential burglar or robber happens upon this page, you should think twice before you do. Why?

Well, some criminals target the Amish like these apparently did, thinking that the Amish will be less likely to report crimes, or perhaps have less secure property. They may have also heard that Amish are a non-resistant people, and cowardly seek to take advantage of that belief as well. Some are even brazen enough to pull over buggies and rob them at gunpoint.

One big minus of targeting the Amish, however, is that there are usually always a lot of eyes around.

Those who go after the Amish are not breaking into vacant apartments or homes where single people live. Amish have large families, and someone is usually at home. Their Amish neighbors, who are likely to be family as well, are watching.

Think the resident family is out at church or some other event? Well, their non-Amish neighbors are watching too. And they’re apt to be keeping an eye out for their Amish neighbors even more vigilantly than they would for fellow non-Amish residents.

They’ll get your plate number or vehicle description. And the Amish may be more eager to get authorities involved than you might think. Some may even be using unexpected technology (like trail cameras or other monitoring devices) to protect their property.

Criminals seeking easy scores by targeting the Amish should take all that into account – and not assume that they will get away clean with their crimes, because time and again they are caught.

If you have any information on these latest robberies, state police would like you to contact the Mercer barracks. From what I can find, that phone number is 724-748-0044.

Update

A local station interviewed Susan Hougelman, who runs Simple Life Amish Tours in the area. Susan shared her thoughts and support.

Based on the report it sounds like both buggy robbery attempts happened in the New Wilmington community, which is partially located in Mercer County.

“There’s no one else going to be driving an Amish buggy but an Amish person so I think they were targeting the Amish,” Hougelman said.

Hougelman said some within the Amish community are concerned — the women more than the men. She also asked permission to do the interview.

“And they felt it was a good thing for me to make the public aware that we are being vigilant,” said Hougelman.

To help her Amish friends, Hougelman started a social media campaign with the slogan “I Stand With Our Amish Community.” She says it’s gone viral.

“I wanted them to, the Amish community, to know that we do support them and we are going to be out there,” Hougelman said. “And I think, primarily people in the United States know the Amish are such a peace-loving, kind group of people and they definitely want to support and help the Amish.”

View the video report here: