Shoppers wake up on Christmas Day in Target after getting trapped for days by blizzard
Dozens of shoppers had to spend their Christmas inside a Target after a deadly blizzard left them trapped for days.
An icy storm swept northwestern New York on December 23, with Buffalo especially battered by the blizzard that has left at least 28 dead.
A group of seven Target employees in the Cheektowaga suburb opened the doors of the closed big-box store for 25 stranded motorists.
They were greeted by hot cups of Starbucks coffee, blankets and portable heaters as the shop became an unexpected Christmas refuge.
Instead of spending time with their families, the staff and shoppers were trapped inside Target Plaza on Walden Avenue until Christmas Day.
Children had to play Uno and read books as they waited out the storm.
Jessica Sypniewski, a Department of Veterans Affairs worker living in West Seneca, thanked Target staff on Facebook.
‘We have been stranded at target on Walden since 12pm yesterday, I have never felt so scared in my life but we are safe and warm!!’ she said on Christmas Eve.
‘I cannot say enough to the Target employees who opened their doors to us and have provided everything we have needed, you guys are literally life savers!!
‘We have made a s****y situation OKAY!!’
She told Buffalo News that she, her boyfriend and their two kids were driving home from a shopping trip when they faced white-out conditions.
Unable to make it home, they were forced to knock around until Target let them huddle inside.
‘I got so emotional, I just sat down and started crying,’ Sypniewski said. ‘You never know. People could have died. I truly believe they saved lives.’
Another shopper, Carla Rodrigues, said on TikTok that the first night ‘wasn’t bad’ despite the lack of heat.
One clip showed how employees set up ‘activities’ for them, including watching the Buffalo Bills play American football.
She later filmed snowploughs unclogging the street outside the store before more snow quickly piled up.
On Christmas Day, Rodrigues said she gave driving home a shot and finally managed to get home, filming the drive throughout the slowly thawing town.
‘Leaving, we could see people who have been stuck in (their) cars for the past two days,’ she wrote, adding that she saw countless abandoned vehicles and people.
‘We stopped along with another man to help this woman get out.’
The National Weather Service in Buffalo said that through Christmas Day on Sunday the city saw 7.7 feet of snow.
This figure was just a few inches shy of the average of nearly eight feet Buffalo gets during an entire winter season.
‘We are home,’ Rodrigues added.
‘It was bittersweet, shared a few tears with each other and our family, not only for us but everyone dealing with tragedy during this time.
‘Not everyone is going home tonight.’
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