A video shows a store clerk in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, beating up a customer as he suffers a seizure. Now, the local community is outraged as the victim has been hospitalized and now cannot move his body.
The incident took place on Dec. 22 at the Princess Market convenience store around 3:30 p.m. after a 56-year-old Black man entered the store.
Gregory Evan according to his family began having a seizure when the clerk left his post behind the counter to confront him. Then the clerk started to beat Evans with a stick despite the man experiencing a medical crisis. The assault was captured on cellphones by fellow customers. The investigation of the assault by providing authorities with video copies of the incident they had already acquired. Sobhi Hassan, 68, has been arrested by Rocky Mount Police Department on Dec. 28, and was charged with simple assault in connection with the incident.
Video shows Hassan shouting at Evans, “Get out now,” before coming over to beat him six times on his leg during his seizure. As a result of the altercation, Evans is hospitalized and undergoing tests.
The incident has prompted people to call for justice for Evans. Protestors cleaned up trash, as they collect signatures for a petition to get the store shut down, alleging the store has a history of treating customers “in a negative and discriminatory way.”
Local authorities are continuing to investigate the assault to determine if it can be considered a hate crime.
