Hurricane Helene causes mixed emotions in me.

On one hand, I see the death and devastation she left in her wake and I can't help but feel horrible for everyone affected. On the other hand, it was supposed to hit me, and I'm relieved that it went further east than expected. That's especially true after seeing just how bad so many of those places got hit.

Unfortunately, natural disasters have a tendency to prompt some of the worst in our society to take advantage of the situation for their own gain.

One such...individual is currently being hunted by law enforcement.

Thomasville Police are looking for a person who they say stole multiple guns from a local business during the middle of Hurricane Helene, according to a Facebook post from the department.

Security camera footage shows the burglar breaking into cases and going behind counters, grabbing multiple guns.

Thomasville didn't get the full brunt of Helene. It's just a little south of me, so I know that while they got some nasty weather like we did, it's nothing compared to what they were expecting.

And I suspect that lack of mass destruction helped facilitate this upstanding citizen helping himself to the guns at the store.

Luckily, Thomasville didn't lose power, so there is video of the offending party and hopefully, he'll soon be in police custody, preferably before those stolen guns end up in someone else's hands.

As I noted earlier today, though, this is how criminals get guns. If they don't steal them from gun stores, they steal them from private individuals, which actually accounts for most of the guns criminals traffic.

But it's particularly vile to take advantage of a terrible storm just to make a few bucks by doing illegal stuff. There aren't going to be additional charges for it, and if there were additional charges, it's not like it would be a deterrent, but that doesn't mean it's not more vile than the normal criminal activity, which is saying something.

What people need to know, though, is that someone who would do this won't be deterred by gun control laws, either. He stole guns during a massive storm, risking his own life in the process. If he's willing to put his life at risk like this, do you think he's going to fear prison? Do you think he'll just roll over because you passed some laws?

If you do, you're an idiot. You're someone who should probably go about life wearing a bicycle helmet so you won't injure yourself. You definitely shouldn't be allowed to vote.

You can't legislate the criminal into morality. You can't make them better people with laws.

If you could, this break-in in Thomasville wouldn't have happened. You wouldn't need to worry about your gun store inventory during a massive hurricane that's expected to ravish the entire area and leave people without power, clean water, or anything else they need for days. You'd be able to focus on keeping you and yours safe.

But there are terrible people out there, and I hope this one ends up behind bars very soon.