Probably the same kind of person who would take a bike from a kid who just got it—on the day before Christmas Eve, no less.
That is what happened to not just one child inside Fowler High School in Syracuse, New York. There, the Central New York Bike Giveaway—one of the largest of its kind—put 1500 bikes into the hands of kids who wouldn’t have otherwise had them. But some people, apparently frustrated by waiting on a long line outside the school, snatched bikes away from the youngsters as they left.
“This is really a sad situation,” said Jan Maloff, who said “this has never happened before” during the 30 years he’s held the event.
Still, he declared the event a success and sent his volunteers back to where he had “another 200 to 300 bikes prepped” when the bikes ran out.
He plans to continue the event for next Christmas but “will probably bring in á private security force” in addition to Syracuse police so that “something like this does not happen again.”
After all, who can be happier than a kid getting a bike for Christmas—or sadder than a kid who’s had it snatched away from them?
