Man charged after allegedly assaulting Coles employee
A Coles worker has become one of the first victims of crazed panic buying after they were allegedly attacked and beaten with a stick in a Brunswick store.
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An angry shopper accused of striking a Coles employee with a stick in Brunswick has been charged.
The 43-year-old man allegedly struck the Barkly Square supermarket staff member before being held down by a group of customers about 8.30pm on Sunday.
A fellow shopper took to twitter to post pictures of the altercation.
“Some guy just started beating a Coles staff member at Barkly square with a large stick,” he wrote.
“Wild times.”
some guy just started beating a Coles staff member at Barkly Square with a large stick and was then pinned down by a bunch of customers. Wild times pic.twitter.com/ysoB3ZB28e
— Benjamin 🥶 (@AttackOfTheClaw) March 15, 2020
Police spokeswoman Nikki Ladgrove confirmed the incident at the Sydney Rd store but said the staff member did not require medical treatment.
“A passer-by who intervened and rendered assistance sustained minor injuries during the incident,” she said.
“The 43-year-old man was charged with recklessly cause injury, unlawful assault, assault with a weapon and possess a dangerous article.”
A Coles spokeswoman said as the issue was now a police matter, they wouldn’t be able to make any comment on the specific incident.
“There is enough for everyone if people shop as they normally shop,” she said.
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“Coles team members and suppliers have been working as hard as possible delivering more products to stores every day and stocking shelves as quickly as possible.
“We ask for customers to continue to respect and support our store team members and our Customer Care and Coles Online call centres, particularly if a product is unavailable or if the checkout queues are longer than normal.”
The man was bailed to appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on July 30.