Derrick Jordan grabbed an AR-15 rifle from a pickup truck parked near the entrance of a Conoco gas station and convenience store.
He and four other black Ferguson residents spent Tuesday night guarding the white-owned business from would be looters and shoplifters.
“We would have been burned to the ground many times over if it weren’t for them,” said gas station Doug Merello, whose family has owned the business for thirty years
Jordan and his friends were joined on Tuesday night by other armed men from the neighborhood. The men weren’t paid to be there. They said they owed it to Merello, who has employed many of them over the years and treats them with respect.
“He’s a nice dude, [sic] he’s helped us a lot,” said 29-year-old R.J.
Missouri lawmakers recently passed a law overriding local ordinances that banned the open carry of firearms by people who have concealed-weapons permits.
For more on the story, see “Black residents protect white-owned store in Ferguson.”
THE MILLSTONE DIARIES 