Nearly 400 gallons were stolen from a gas station in North Carolina on Monday as Americans continue to face soaring gas prices across the country.
The theft occurred on Monday evening in High Point, North Carolina after the Bizzy Bee Grocery Store and Gas Station had closed.
Our new @trafalgar_group/@COSProject poll (3/7-11) shows more than 3/4 of Americans believe #Biden should make domestic energy production a priority:
— The Trafalgar Group (@trafalgar_group) March 16, 2022
77.3% Yes
9.3% No
13.5% Not sure
Bipartisan agreement:
67% #Dems
88.6% #GOP
77.6% #Inds
See Report: https://t.co/k4PC2tV6qS pic.twitter.com/UCv0sCRFSn
Surveillance footage showed several cars pulling up near the gas pumps and began filling their tanks over the course of 45 minutes. Hardik Patel, who is the owner of the establishment, said that 398 gallons were stolen, amounting to $1,600 worth of gas.
Reports indicate that someone bypassed the payment system, allowing the gas to flow during after-hours.
“I’ve been in business for 15 years and owned other gas stations. I have never seen something like this,” Patel told reporters. “It wasn’t free, they were stealing.”
This comes after motorists have been suffering due to recent high gas prices. As of Thursday, the national average price for regular gas was $4.289 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order last week banning the import of “petroleum; petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation; liquefied natural gas; coal; and coal products” into the U.S. from Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group showed that 77.3 percent of Americans think that Biden should make boosting U.S. energy production a priority amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Lawmakers have suggested increasing federal leases for oil and gas production, easing restrictions on offshore oil drilling, supporting fracking, and restarting the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
However, Biden appears to be uninterested in combating the issue, as the president prioritized a multi-trillion dollar Build Back Better plan instead, which could add at least $750 billion to government spending.
Last week, Biden blamed Putin for the record-high inflation rates and skyrocketing gas prices in the U.S.
“From the moment he put his over one hundred and fifty thousand troops on the Ukrainian border, the price of gasoline in January went up 75 cents and Putin began amassing troops along the border,” Biden said.
