WATCH: Stores LOOTED in Buffalo during massive winter storm

Video footage circulating on social media over the Christmas weekend shows dozens of people looting stores in Buffalo during the "worst-ever storm", that crippled much of north-western New York state.

The footage seems to show police doing nothing about the looting, while authorities are downplaying much of what is happening, according to WGRZ.



"We have had two confirmed reports of looting incidents where law enforcement has been dispatched and responded," New York State Police Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli said at a Sunday evening news conference alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul.

"Those are still under investigation as we speak," he continued. "Those are isolated incidents, and it's not reflective of the great community of Western New York, and I'm sure that they'll be limited to those two incidents or at least that's our hope."

The story on social media is quite different, as on Twitter user points out that "a simple Facebook search of 'Buffalo looting' shows multiple incidents," far more than the "two confirmed reports" that State Police allege to have taken place.

Much of this looting comes as the United States contends with what NBC describes as a "once-in-a-lifetime" storm that has so far claimed the lives of 55 people across the country, 30 of those in New York state alone.

The storm initially brought in unseasonably warm weather with a band of heavy rain on Thursday, which then completely iced over as temperatures plummeted overnight into Friday. What followed was massive amounts of lake-effect snow, blanketing the frozen city with as much as six feet of heavy, difficult-to-plow snow.

With the weekend-long state of emergency, during which a driving ban was enforced and people remained stranded without power, people saw it as an opportunity to steal what they could.

One video shows looters fleeing a building while heavy gunfire can heard in the background. It is unknown whether there were any injuries.

Several clips show completely trashed stores with empty shelves and items strewn across the aisles. One woman even live-streamed herself on Facebook during a looting incident, ending her video by swigging from a stolen six-pack of an orange-colored soft drink. 

The owner of Nickel City Liquor allegedly slept at his store as he was unable to board up the windows in time. Footage from his security camera shows thieves smashing through the snow-covered front window, filling up bags with bottles of stolen liquor. 

"They have cheap and bad taste," the owner said.