California security guard stabs customer who refused to wear mask and assaulted staff
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: A security guard at a Vons supermarket in Santa Monica, California, stabbed a customer late on Monday night, November 8, after the customer became violent upon being urged to wear a mask. In a press release, the Santa Monica Police Department on Tuesday, November 9, said that the customer entered the Vons store at around 10.35 pm without wearing a mask, and started 'causing a scene'. According to witnesses, the man became 'belligerent' and began assaulting a staff after employees approached him and asked him to wear a mask. When a security guard tried to escort him out of the building, a fight broke out between the two.
During the fight, the security took out a pocket knife and stabbed the customer several times, and then called 911 and reported the incident to be in self-defense. Andre Berryman, a shopper who witnessed the fight, told CBS Los Angeles that the customer was "bleeding profusely", adding, "That was pretty much what happened. It was all behind him not wearing a mask."
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When police arrived, they found the victim outside the grocery store. He was provided assistance until the arrival of the Santa Monica Fire Department, after which he was rushed to a local hospital. Police said that he is now in stable condition and recovering.
"The customer is recovering at a local hospital and has been listed as stable. At the hospital, he refused to identify himself or provide any statements of the incidents. At this time, no arrests have been made. This investigation is ongoing," police said in a statement. "I don't have the specifics on the actual knife, if it's a pocket folding knife, then, yes, it is legal and he can be armed with it," Santa Monica police Lieutenant Rudy Flores said.
In mandatory to wear face masks in all indoor public settings, businesses, gatherings, and venues in Los Angeles County, whether or not the individual is vaccinated. "It is important for everyone to help slow the spread of the virus by wearing masks indoors. When people wear a mask correctly, they protect others as well as themselves," the county said in a statement.
In a similar incident that took place recently, an aggressive anti-masker at a restaurant was seen getting punched in the face by another customer after he shoved a third man during a furious tirade. In the beginning, the video shows the man yelling at a restaurant staffer, accusing her of "discriminating" against him by asking him to wear a mask. "We're going to f**k your restaurant up!" he shouted. The staff member simply says, "it's a mandate!" When another customer tried to inervene, the anti-masker shoved him, saying, "Don't get in my face!" While others got up in support of the customer who was shoved, one man approached the anti-masker and knocked him to the floor with a punch to his face.