Man accused of shooting while customers waited to buy bourbon at Buffalo Trace Distillery

A man was arrested after allegedly firing a gun outside the Buffalo Trace Distillery Saturday morning as customers stood in line waiting to purchase special bottles of bourbon.

Frankfurt police said they were called to the distillery at 6:56 a.m. about a single gunshot fired at the distillery. When they arrived at 6:59 a.m., they said they found the man “who appeared to be intoxicated” and immediately took him into custody.

Customers often line up in the Buffalo Trace parking lot a few hours before the gift shop opens, as the distillery releases one of its assigned whiskeys each day and collectors attempt to acquire a bottle of something that could be hard to find at a reasonable price. Weekends are generally busier than weekdays.

The man accused of the shooting, James E. Ande, of Caneyville, is charged with first-degree wanton endangerment with aggravation (drugs), public intoxication, trafficking in marijuana with aggravation (firearms) and possession of an open container in a motor vehicle. , said the police.

“This is an isolated event and Frankfurt Police do not believe there are any other public safety concerns in regards to this incident,” police said in a Facebook post.

Jon Lauth wrote in a post shared on the Facebook group Buffalo Trace Daily: What Is Sold Today And Predictions For Tomorrow that the man “stormed into the parking lot from the back, onto the road behind the fence at a high rate of speed . I parked in a handicapped spot and went to talk to someone I knew in the queue. They returned to his car and the driver pulled out an AR-15 and fired a live round into the air. After that, he put the gun back, took out a bottle of whiskey and drank some more.

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