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Collected Item: “Elderly Man Killed after Confronting Man Without a Mask”

Give your story a title.

Elderly Man Killed after Confronting Man Without a Mask

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

news story

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

This incident happened in a neighborhood near my own. An elderly man was concerned when he saw a patron in the same bar as him without a mask. In New York State, masks are required inside all buildings open to the public by Governor Andrew Cuomo's order. The elderly man, Rocco Sapienza, confronted the anti-masker, Donald Lewinski, asking him why he wasn't wearing a mask and suggesting he put one on. Lewinski shoved Sapienza to the ground where he hit his head and never regained consciousness. Sapienza subsequently died in the hospital. Lewinski has been arrested.

This comes 5 months after an elderly #BLM protestor was shoved to the ground by Buffalo police. His head smashed on the concrete and he was hospitalized for weeks. The news spread over the national news and the #BLM protestor was accused of being a hired crisis actor by conspiracy theorists.

These incidences of inter-personal violence are perhaps nothing new- police brutality and bar brawls unfortunately happen all the time. But they appear to have taken on a new political significance in 2020.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

mask, Buffalo, New York, #BLM, anti-masker, Governor Andrew Cuomo, mask mandate, violence

Enter a URL associated with this object, if relevant.

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/80-year-old-man-dies-following-dispute-over-wearing-face-mask-at-west-seneca-bar

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

WKBW Buffalo

Give this story a date.

2020-09-26
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