Crime & Safety

Wal-Mart Pepper Spray Suspect Surrenders

Woman walks into the Devonshire Division police station.

The woman who allegedly shot pepper spray on fellow Wal-Mart shoppers clamoring for a cheap Xbox 360 on Black Friday Eve has surrendered to Los Angeles police, officers said Saturday.

The woman went to the LAPD Devonshire station at 8:30 p.m. Friday, and detectives will release her name and details of the pending charges later, said a police spokesman, Officer Bruce Borihahn.

"The investigation is still ongoing," the officer said. "We have several victims and witnesses that need to be interviewed to determine what appropriate actions need to be taken."

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The Black Friday Eve assault made worldwide headlines, and Wal-Mart security officers were reportedly in the process of isolating in-store surveillance tape of the suspect for police to disseminate to the public this weekend.

The Wal-Mart customer apparently spritzed the caustic spray onto a crowd at the Porter Ranch Wal-Mart just after it opened at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night. As clerks unwrapped plastic from a shipment of X-box electronic gaming consoles, the woman sprayed other shoppers, including children.

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The woman grabbed an XBox, purchased it, and left the scene as fire trucks rolled up to treat 20 patients for minor injuries. All the patients have been treated and released, firefighters said.

"Not a very bright thing to have done,"  was the assessment of Sgt. A.J. De Bellis at the LAPD Devonshire Station.

-- City News Service


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