A teen has been arrested following a violent attack at a Walmart on Madison’s east side.
70-year-old P.K. Shader went to the Walmart located at Oakes Road and Durand Avenue. During her trip, Shader had gotten into some sort of verbal dispute with an employee, identified as 17-year-old Jazareia Velasquez.
“It has been quite a journey and why anyone would do that? I don’t know. And why no one helped is even more, especially in a Walmart store,” said P.K. Shader.
Velasquez attacked Shader after she asked the manager to report the negative interaction she had with Velasquez. Shader had also tried to take a picture of the teen.
The violent incident started when Shader asked to speak with Velasquez’s manager to report the negative interaction she had with Velasquez. The manager who witnessed Velasquez is claimed to be relatively unhelpful.
“The manager was right there watching the interaction. She [Velasquez] left and I looked at the manager and I said do you let her talk to all your customers like that? I didn’t get a reply. As I was leaving, I thought I really want to know what her name is because I want to send it to corporate.”
Apparently, Shader didn’t see a nametag on Velasquez, so she went to go take a picture of her so that she could have the means to identify the employee when contacting corporate. However, Shader attempting to snap a photo of Velasquez apparently set the suspect off:
“She went crazy she flew and she punched me fist right here, over and over again. I’m never walking into Walmart again, that’s for sure.”
The teen was arrested and charged with aggravated battery to an elderly person and disorderly conduct.
Shader said several employees witnessed the assault, but only one stepped in. Shader said she had to call 911 herself because no one else did.
Officers responded to the store, located at 3049 South Oakes Road, at around 7 p.m. on July 7 after receiving a report that an elderly woman had been punched in the head and face by a Walmart employee, the Mount Pleasant Police Department said in a news release at the weekend.
The victim had been punched numerous times but did not require immediate medical attention, Sgt. Jason Vaccaro said in the release.
But Shader, who was left with severe bruising around her eyes, said that the attack has had an enormous impact on her life.
“What if it was your grandmother? What if it was your mother?… The managers knew she was a loose cannon. The first manager said nothing. The second one told me so. So, why did they keep an employee like that? That’s a bigger problem than not having security,” said Shader.
“I just want to tell people: ‘Pull out your phone. Give somebody a break.’ No one’s asking you to dive in and be hurt, but pull out your phone and document it and yell, ‘Call the police.’”
According to reports, Walmart has suspended Velasquez. Shader and her attorney, Carl Ricciardi, have called for the company to fire her.
“They have to take seriously their duty to work with their employees so this never happens again,” he said.
Police said that although Velasquez, of Racine, is 17, she can be charged as an adult in Wisconsin. She is charged with aggravated battery to an elderly person and disorderly conduct and was transported to the Racine County Jail.
Police said the Racine County District Attorney’s Office is now handling the matter.
Watch the video report here: CBS58/Youtube
Sources: OpposingViews, WAFB 9
dan