Authorities are searching for a man who threw an 80-year-old woman from her motorized shopping cart after punching her daughter in the face.
The incident occurred in the checkout line of the Wholesale Food Outlet on Jonesboro Road in Forest Park, Channel 2 Action News reported.
According to the women, the man became irate because he thought 80-year-old Mary Gardner cut in front of him in line. He didn’t realize she was grocery shopping with her daughter, who was already waiting to check out.
“He slammed me so hard on the floor, and you know that floor is concrete,” Gardner told Channel 2. “It just happened so fast.”
Surveillance video shows the man punch 60-year-old Kathy Malone in the face before pulling her mother from the scooter by her hair and tossing her to the ground.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Gardner suffered scrapes and bruises in the scuffle but wasn’t seriously injured. The video shows the grocery store manager come around the checkout line and stand between the man and the other customers once he realized what was happening.
“If I had my cane — I left it in the car — I’d have hit him in the back of the head,” Gardner said. “If he did us like that, he’ll do somebody else like that.”
Authorities are concerned the man's violent streak could continue and they're urging anyone who recognizes him to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477 or send tips to the Crime Stoppers website.
“It was really scary because my mom could have broken her hip,” Malone said. “I’m just hoping that somebody will see this man and turn him in because he needs to pay for what he did to my mother.”
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