A 68-year-old man is currently in a coma after being forcibly restrained and severely beaten at a Family Dollar store on Old Oxford Rd in Durham on Thursday, reportedly while attempting to steal a can of air freshener.
Footage shows an employee, identified as Camille, who is said to be the manager of the Old Oxford Rd location, hitting the elderly man across his back with an air freshener can.
68-year-old man put in coma after he was badly beaten inside Family Dollar store
Ayana Edwards, the daughter of the victim, 68-year-old Reginald Allen, told The North Carolina Beat that she received a call from her mother on Thursday evening, informing her that something had happened to her father and that they needed to go to the hospital.
“They said that my dad had been beaten,” Edwards said. “We didn’t really get any details … they just told us he at Duke regional unresponsive.”
Upon arrival at the hospital, they learned that he had been assaulted at the Family Dollar and is now in a coma due to his injuries.
“He is in a coma and has bleeding on his brain,” said Edwards. “He’s in the ICU.”
Video shows brief altercation inside Family Dollar store before 68-year-old man beaten
A video circulating on social media, lasting three minutes and 3 seconds, shows Allen on the ground attempting to get up while a man holds his legs. Camille is seen striking Allen with a can of air freshener as he tries to fend off the man holding his legs.
Instead of allowing Allen to leave, the man continued to restrain him while Camille directed another man to assist. The two men dragged Allen across the floor as he attempted to crawl toward the exit. Another woman entered the store and slapped Allen after a bystander claimed he had thrown something at her mother.
As the two men continued to hold Allen against his will, Camille was seen clearing obstacles from their path. Allen was on the floor trying to defend himself, while another Family Dollar employee approached to help Camille clear things out of the way, to continue their assault on Allen.
Camille was also observed trying to stomp a small metal rack out of Allen’s hands. Although the video does not capture the actual beating, the woman who slapped Allen was heard saying, “you in the wrong motherfucking store n***, with the wrong motherfuckers in it today.”
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Edwards mentioned that the police have not provided any information regarding the air freshener incident, and they only learned about Allen‘s attempt to take one from the social media video.
“I want justice for my dad,” Edwards said.
The North Carolina Beat is actively working to identify all employees and the two men involved in the incident.
