7-Eleven employees are beaten and pelted with snacks after refusing to sell to an underage girl
Shocking surveillance footage shows at least eight suspects carrying out a heated attack on two 7-Eleven clerks — after they refused to sell a cigar to an underage girl.
The Saturday night attack, now labeled a “senseless act of violence,” took place at one of the chain’s stores in the small Texas town, and saw female staffers strike and pelt them with snacks from the shelves on several occasions.
The violence started around 9pm – after one of the clerks seen in the footage refused to sell the tobacco product to a member of the party who was under 21, leading her to return with the rest of the young people.
After a short exchange of words, the attack followed – and the whole thing was caught on camera.
Despite this, detectives in the Dallas suburbs are still looking for the perpetrators, who remain at large. They hit and throw objects at the victims, and some even jump over the counter to carry out the attack.
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Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment at least eight suspects were involved in a heated attack on two 7-Eleven clerks at a store in Mesquite, Texas, Saturday — after they were allegedly denied a cigar because they were underage
The violence began around 9 p.m. at this 7-Eleven on Faithon P. Lucas Boulevard — after one of the clerks seen in the footage refused to sell the tobacco product to a member of the party, leaving them with the rest of the young people returned.
“This was absolutely a senseless act of violence,” Lieutenant Brandon Ricketts said Monday, as police continued to search for the suspect – believed to be eight in number.
‘That young lady [after being denied the cigar] said, “Well, I’m going to get my friends and come back.” And that’s what she did.’
A video of the attack quickly surfaced online and has since gone viral – later leading police to admit that they were only aware of the footage’s existence after seeing it through a host of third parties.
However, the roughly 300-strong force has confirmed that the clip is legit – filmed from one of the Faithon P. Lucas Boulevard store’s many cameras.
The disturbing clip shows how a simple verbal altercation between one of the servants, a woman and the girl quickly escalated into a physical encounter – with several blows and the staffer relentlessly pelted with food items.
The other clerk, also a woman, became involved when she witnessed the attack, police said — she tried to intervene when several male members of the cash register jumped over the register to rain blows on the duo.
Speak against NBC 5 Dallas-Fort WorthRicketts told how the attack happened and revealed that both employees had been punched several times in the face – suffering only minor injuries.
“Two men jump over the counter and start attacking the clerk,” Ricketts said of the footage, which is now in police hands.
“Another servant sees this, she tries to intervene, another female servant, and then she is also attacked.”
When asked if the attack was the result of the store clerk’s refusal to sell the cigar to the under-21-year-old, the law officer replied – with a look of disgust – “Correct.”
The violence began after one of the clerks seen in the footage refused to sell the tobacco product to a member of the party who was under 21, leading her to return with the rest of the youth seen here.
The footage is now being reviewed by police officers and is further supported by a clip taken outside the store – which police said this week may contain footage of at least part of the group’s getaway car
At least eight people, including the first customer who was refused the cigar, were involved in the attack, but no one has been identified as of Tuesday and an arrest has yet to be made.
“This was absolutely a senseless act of violence,” Lieutenant Brandon Ricketts said Monday, as police continued to search for the suspect – believed to be eight in number.
According to police, that vehicle of interest is a silver Dodge SUV, which investigators theorized Monday was carrying away several suspects linked to the attack
The footage is now being reviewed by police officers and is further supported by a clip taken outside the store – which police said this week may include footage of at least part of the group’s getaway car.
According to police, that vehicle of interest is a silver Dodge SUV, which detectives theorized on Monday carried off several suspects.
At least eight people, including the first customer who was refused the cigar, were involved in the attack – though none have been identified on Tuesday and no arrest has yet to be made.
Speak against Fox 4 On Monday, Lieutenant Ricketts lamented how a group of youths could commit such a senseless attack by attacking law-abiding workers trying to earn a paycheck.
The clerks were just doing their job. They were trying to make a living,” the officer said.
Clients Ashanti Ferrell added, “Someone could have lost their life or, you know, some other situation,” Ferrell said.
“I feel like someone started it, and then you’re with the group and you’re already there, so they just carried on with the situation, but I don’t think that was a very wise thing for them to do.”
Police, meanwhile, have said the incident serves as a strong reminder for parents to keep an eye on their children as summer gets into full swing.
“Know who they’re dealing with, know what they’re up to because it’s hard for me to believe one of them on their own would have done something like that,” Ricketts said, revealing that the employees suffered chapped lips and other minor injuries.
“But you start hanging out with the wrong people, you start doing things you wouldn’t normally do – before you know it you have a criminal past that will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
None of the staffers were hospitalized, and Fox 4 reported that both showed up for work on Monday but declined an interview due to company policy.
Meanwhile, the search for the suspects linked to the attack continues.