MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Knife-wielding woman goes on rampage in Bronx bodega, slashes goods worth over $7K after being told to wear mask

In video surveillance footage from inside the store, the woman can be seen puncturing plastic drink bottles and stabbing sacks of rice, flour, and anything else within her reach

THE BRONX, NEW YORK: A bodega customer went on a rampage after she was told to wear a mask while shopping inside the store. In a video surveillance footage from inside the store, the woman is seen slashing items inside the store and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. 

Wascar Sotos, the owner of Lizbeth Supermarket, where the incident took place, told New York Post that the woman destroyed products worth more than $7,000 after she refused to don a face mask, which was a mandatory rule for customers visiting the store with no exceptions amid the coronavirus pandemic. “I thought it was simple, I ask everyone coming into my bodega to wear a mask,” Soto said in a statement. “Some argue, some curse, some want to fight, some simply slam the door and leave but this person was different. She pulled out a butcher knife and stabbed soda cans, plastic soft drinks, sacks of rice — you name it she stabbed it.”

You can watch the video of the customer going on a rampage inside the store here:

The woman was identified by News12 Bronx as 29-year-old Ariel Gager. In the video, she punctured plastic drink bottles and went on to stab sacks of rice, flour, and anything else within her reach. In addition, the customer also started throwing a number of food products on the floor. “It went on for some time before a dozen cops arrived,” Soto said.

The owner added that he called the cops and they took 25 minutes to arrive. They took a further 25 minutes to arrest the woman. According to the United Bodegas of America (UBA), the authorities watched the woman destroy the store for a while before apprehending her. “More than a dozen cops responded but they fear using force, they fear any kind of confrontation,” UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo said. “In this case, they stood by watching this person destroying the bodega. It is sad to see cops afraid of doing their job.”

Mateo said that the group was scheduled to meet with Police Commissioner Dermot Shea to discuss why the police had not taken more prompt action in the situation. "We want to know from him what options do we have when his cops can't come in and arrest someone, can't come in and do their jobs?" Mateo says. "Why are the cops being handcuffed by the city? We need our cops. We need for them to do their job." He also invited the NYPD commissioner, mayor and governor to work behind the counter of a bodega for a day to experience what it felt like to do the job. 

Gager was charged with criminal mischief. It is not clear if she has been released from custody. UBA President Radames Rodriguez said that the customer’s meltdown was “terrifying” and said enforcing mandatory mask rules was putting bodega workers’ lives in danger. “We cannot control the anger people are feeling. We are afraid to lose our life over this mask enforcement thing,” Rodriguez said.