Over the weekend, a chaotic scene unfolded in a New York City pet store when a woman violently slapped a tourist before being removed for kicking a puppy kennel. The incident, which occurred in Citipups in Chelsea, was captured on CCTV. According to the store manager, the woman’s sudden outburst left the visiting Texan with a bloody nose.
Woman removed from New York pet store may have been suffering mental health episode
Store manager, Emilio Ortiz, who witnessed the assault, also captured the event on video. The footage shows the woman making a sudden, violent gesture toward the tourist. Further, adding to the shock, the woman appeared to spit at her. Ortiz said the assault was “totally unprovoked.” He speculated the woman may have been suffering a mental health episode during the unsettling incident.
The clip also revealed the initial disturbance caused by the woman as she kicked the puppy kennel multiple times. Attempting to capture her aggressive behavior, Ortiz found himself almost smacked by the woman as she lashed out and tried to slap the phone out of his hands. Her aggression didn’t wane even as employees ushered her out of the pet shop. In fact, she hurled an item from the counter onto the floor on her way out, before assaulting the unsuspecting tourist, the manager said. Ortiz described the incident vividly to The Post on Tuesday, Feb. 20, stating, “As she’s walking out, she slaps the s–t out of this lady. Like, she slaps her really freaking hard.”
He further stated the victim “was bleeding, she had a nosebleed, she was like really distraught because it was her first time in New York.” Subsequently, the tourist filed an assault report with the New York Police Department (NYPD). As of Tuesday morning, no arrests were made, police said.
