(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – A gas station owner in Philadelphia has resorted to hiring heavily armed security guards to protect his venue from various types of criminals.
Neil Patel, who owns a Karco gas station in Northern Philadelphia, said he took the measure to deal with the “nonsense, drug trafficking, hanging around, [and] gangs,” which threaten his property and employees.
He resorted to the services of a Pennsylvania-based security firm called S.I.T.E. Agents,” whose guards are equipped with AR-15s or shotguns and Kevlar vest and AR-15s or shotguns,” FOX 29 reported.
The report noted the company’s security guards “train regularly, maintaining firearm proficiency.”
“They are forcing us to hire the security, high-level security, state level. We are tired of this nonsense: robbery, drug trafficking, hanging around, gangs,” Patel stated.
The gas station owner emphasized his business hadn’t suffered any attacks since he hired the armed security guards.
Before that, however, criminals vandalized the gas station and stole an A.T.M. from it, while street vandals also damaged his car.
The gas station owner has shared online videos and photos showing hooded gangsters dragging out the A.T.M., the ransacked store in the aftermath of the attack, and his car’s smashed windows and slash tires.
At least one resident criticized Patel for the drastic security measures, arguing that children visiting the gas station with their parents shouldn’t see heavily-armed security guards.
The owner insisted that while that may be an understandable concern, it is the criminals who are armed.
“I listen to them, but…violent people, they carry the guns. I fear for the safety of my employees and [my] customers,” Patel stated.
S.I.T.E. Chief Andre Boyer spoke out in favor of the gas station owner’s right to take the measures necessary to defend his business.
“My guards go to training every other week, they’re proficient with [guns], and with their taser, they know the law,” Boyer stated.
“We have a right to protect this property by any means necessary and whatever force necessary to be used to protect it,” he added concerning Patel’s gas station.
Most neighbors and residents support Patel’s extra security measures for his Karco gas station.
One resident, Korrie Barry, declared his measures would help locals who “live in a bad area” to “get gas” without confronting the threat from criminals.
Philadelphia’s overall crime rate has spiked by 23% so far this year compared with the same period in 2021, while violent crime in the city is up 3%. Robberies, in particular, have skyrocketed by 36.7%.
Philadelphia gas station owner Neil Patel hired security guards with AR-15s to deal with all the “nonsense, drug trafficking, hanging around, [and] gangs” endangering his employees. https://t.co/EpdaBE1SyY
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 6, 2022
