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Man Attacks Grocery Store Employee With Cart After Being Asked To Wear A Mask

A man was pepper sprayed at a California grocery store this week after allegedly assaulting a female employee with his grocery cart, simply because she told him he needed to wear a face mask, CBS Los Angeles reported.

The unidentified man was shopping at a Ralphs grocery store in Los Angeles when he was approached by the employee who insisted he follow the county's mask mandate or leave the premise.

Witnesses who had been shopping at the location at the same time recalled the encounter to local media.

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In an interview with CBS Los Angeles, one person explained the fight began when the maskless man was asked to cover his face inside the store.

Los Angeles County requires people to wear face masks while in public spaces and while interacting with people who are not members of their household.

Another witness heard yelling down one of the store's aisles and said she saw the man attacking the employee with his shopping cart.

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“I was just coming down to the end of an aisle and all of a sudden I heard some commotion and people were getting in the aisle,” the woman told CBS. “I looked down there and there was this guy just yelling at someone, and then all of a sudden you see him, you know, take the handles of his cart and just try to ram this woman.”

The witness also said the man was screaming at the employee while he continued his assault with the cart.

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“I think he was just screaming about the mask,” she explained. “He didn’t want to wear a mask.”

It was at that time another Ralphs employee used pepper spray to incapacitate the man, and then called local law enforcement to the store.

Footage of the aftermath of the incident has since emerged, showing the man sitting on the ground being treated by paramedics.

The customer appears to be surrounded by milk, which was likely used to help relieve the pain in his eyes caused by the pepper spray.

Paramedics, who feature in the short clip as well, transported the man to a hospital as a precaution. It's unclear at this time whether he will be charged.

In the wake of this incident, Ralphs has now joined the likes of Walmart and Costco and will require all customers to wear a mask while inside its locations.

"Starting July 22, we will require all customers in all locations to wear a mask when shopping in our stores, joining our associates who continue to wear masks," the company explained in a press release. "We are taking this extra step now because we recognize additional precautions are needed to protect our country."

h/t: CBS Los Angeles

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