Liam Egan and Evan Glynn, Irish students who are spending the summer in the US on J-1 work visas, were robbed at gunpoint in Buffalo, New York in the early hours of Sunday, May 19.
Egan and Glynn were robbed outside of The Banshee Irish Pub, where they are employed, in upstate New York less than a week after arriving in the US.
CCTV footage of the incident, shared by the pub's owner with local news outlets, shows how the incident unfolded.
Egan and Glynn - undoubtedly shaken but thankfully not seriously harmed - recounted what happened during the week.
“We were ordering an Uber and this guy came and turned around with a gun and held it to our heads really,” Egan, donning a GAA top, told WIBV.
He added: “When we looked at the footage, he clearly wasn’t following us, he saw us as an easy target. Just sitting ducks nearly."
Neither of the Irish men had cash on them, but the thief did make off with one of their iPhones.
Conor Hawkins, co-owner of The Banshee Irish Pub, told WKBW: "It's embarrassing because Buffalo is a city we all call home now, and for that to happen to these Irish lads — they're from rural Ireland and it's not something they see back home."
Hawkins said nothing like this has ever happened to him in his 25 years of living in the US and he feels for the J1ers.
"This is their first weekend in Buffalo and they experience this," Hawkins lamented.
"They are here to enjoy their summer. They paid a lot of money to work here for the summers and to have a bad experience in Buffalo is normally not like this."
Glynn told WKBW: "We were always told to be careful when we go to America and stuff like that.
"In Ireland, they say it can be very unsafe, but I've been in Buffalo a good few times and we've never, ever had a problem, we've always enjoyed it.
"It's the first time I've ever seen a gun anyways."
Buffalo Police Department is investigating. Anyone with information should call or text the confidential tip line at (716) 847-2255.
Comments