Two men face felony charges after a fight in a Los Angeles Target broke one of the security guard's arm. According to the police, the two men from California refused to wear masks while inside the store.
The two men were identified as Phillip Hamilton, 31, and Paul Hamilton, 29, were being escorted out of the store when one of them suddenly hit the security guard in the face. Some reports say that they are brothers. The security footage of the incident which was released by the Los Angeles Police Department showed the man attacking the guard without any provocation.
The men were being escorted out of the store by the security in Van Nuys around 10:20 am local time on May 1 when the incident occurred. Prior to that, they were confronted by some of the employees for not wearing a mask while inside the store. Customers are requested to wear masks while visiting the stores since April 10.
A scuffle between the staffers and the brothers
According to the footage released by LAPD, a scuffle began between the employees and the brother as they shoved and pushed against each other. "As they approached the exit, one of the suspects suddenly and without provocation turned and punched the store employee, causing him and the suspect to fall to the floor," told LAPD Spokesperson Officer Drake Madison to the LA Times.
According to a local outlet KCBS, after the fight, the guard had to be taken to the hospital because of the fracture. The brothers were arrested the next day and held in initially for a lieu of $50,000 bail. They were released from custody on May 5.
Target said in a statement that they were "grateful for the support of local police" and will "provide any information that can be helpful to their investigation." The spokesperson also said that the incident was unfortunate and the store was committed to ensuring that the customers and employees were safe.
