Four teenagers have been charged after allegedly beating and robbing a woman in western New York, and police say the attack began all because the woman was wearing a respirator mask while shopping.

According to police, the victim called 911 from the parking lot of the Dollar General in Hilton, New York and told authorities that she’d been robbed.

The victim stated that a group of people had confronted her because she was inside the store wearing a respirator mask.

The woman claimed they said she was infected with coronavirus and upon existing the store, she was punched in the face by multiple people of the group. Her wallet and keys were stolen, officials say.

MCSO said the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle, but were later located at Manitou Road and Lyell Road. With assistance of the Ogden Police Department, all occupants were detained.

Those charged were arraigned in Parma Town Court and released on Bail Reform Laws for a court appearance at a later date.

Note that last line. All four of these suspects have already been released from custody and are back on the streets thanks to New York’s bail reform laws, despite being accused of a violent crime. How safe do you think people in Hilton, New York feel at the moment, knowing that they could be beaten and robbed and still see their attackers released within hours of their arrest?

This is an untenable situation. Not only is the state of New York releasing hundreds of inmates in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus behind bars, the state’s bail reform laws are ensuring that even violent suspects are released, instead of being held on a high bond due to their risk of flight or a danger to the community.

At the same time New York is letting criminals like these go free, authorities are preventing people like the victim in this case from legally acquiring a firearm for self-defense. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s order allowing essential businesses to remain open doesn’t mention gun stores, and most gun stores across the state are now closed. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for this crime victim to choose to protect herself with a firearm from now on, but the state has stymied her ability to do so, at least legally.

There’s virtually no chance of Gov. Cuomo rescinding the bail reform laws, but there is hope that the governor could modify his order that has forced gun shops across the state to shut down for an undefined period of time. If the anti-gun governors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut (to name a few) can decide to keep gun stores open, so can Cuomo, though it may take a lawsuit to make it happen.