75-year-old Florida heart patient punched to the ground for asking woman to keep social distance at store
DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, FLORIDA: An elderly man who underwent surgery to have a stent placed in his heart was attacked after he asked a woman to adhere to social distancing at a supermarket.
The victim, a 75-year-old man, told police that the incident began at a Daytona Beach Shores Publix checkout line and he interacted with a woman while in line at a register, reported Fox News. He said that, because of his recent surgery, he was concerned about social distancing and asked the woman to abide by health guidelines and stand within the safe space marked on the floor.
He said he didn't think much of the incident and there had been no real altercation with the woman but realized there was more to it when he walked out into the parking lot. The police report states that as he was outside his car, he was approached by a man who shouted, "You [expletive] gator redneck how dare you!" and accused him of holding up the cashout line.
The victim said the man punched him in the chest and knocked him to the ground before standing over him and delivering a grave warning to not tell the authorities, "One word, and I'll kill you!" He claimed he then saw the man drive off in a Cadillac with the woman he had confronted about social distancing. Several bystanders who witnessed the incident helped him to his feet.
Daytona Beach Shores Police Chief Stephan Dembinsy condemned the attack and promised to bring justice to the elderly man. "It's just horrible the fact that social distancing becomes something to go smash people and knock them to the ground," he said. "As we all know with this pandemic, everybody’s very uptight and he asked the lady to give him some distance. The lady did so. He paid for his products and walked outside."
"He [the victim] was visibly shaken when he came here," he continued. "Obviously, after heart surgery, you don’t want to take any punches or falls, but he was OK." Authorities are now reviewing the surveillance footage from the store in a bid to identify both the man and the woman. They have asked the suspects to turn themselves in before officers come to get them because "within a very short time, we're going to find you."
"We are asking for the public’s help identifying the suspect and/or the woman he was with. We are also asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact us," said Meegan Wilmot with the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety. "This is a whole new world for us, but there’s no reason to lose our temper and start to hurt people for this," Dembinsy stressed. "This man could have been killed from this."
Anyone with information about the case is advised to call Detective Carrazana at 386-763-5347 or dcarrazana@cityofdbs.org. If the suspect is caught, he will likely face a felony charge of aggravated battery on the elderly, according to investigators.