EAST LANSING, Mich — East Lansing police have arrested two people after a violent attack on a store employee downtown this weekend.
Security video shows a group attacking a store employee after a confrontation about theft. The same employee was later sprayed with what appeared to be pepper spray by another group. A juvenile was charged with felonious assault, while an adult received a citation for disorderly fighting.
After several violent incidents in downtown East Lansing in recent weeks, a local business owner reached out about an attack that took place in his own store this weekend.
WATCH: Store employee attacked in downtown East Lansing after confronting theft suspects
East Lansing store employee attacked during weekend incident
“So I got a call at 2:20 that night,” said Ali Haider, the store owner.
It was a call that shocked him.
“When I got the call she was actually in the ambulance,” Haider said.
Security video shows Haider’s employee talking to several individuals before the situation escalated.
“There was one little girl. She tried to steal something, and one of the employees confronted her but she took off with the product,” Haider said.
While that employee was gone, his other employee talked with the group that was with the alleged thief. After words were exchanged, “they attacked her,” according to Haider.
The video then shows East Lansing police officers breaking up the altercation and placing multiple people in handcuffs.
But the incident didn’t end there. Five minutes later, video shows another group entering the store and approaching the same employee. Haider says they sprayed the employee with something similar to pepper spray, and the employee can be heard screaming in pain.
“It’s horrible to watch something like that,” Haider said.
Haider says this isn’t the only problem he and his employees have faced, and it’s started to impact his business.
“It’s been really hard to run a business, and it’s really hard to keep employees because nobody wants to work when it isn’t safe,” Haider said.
East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown confirmed that two individuals were arrested. A juvenile was charged with felonious assault and resisting and obstructing, and an adult male was issued a citation for disorderly fighting.
Brown also said the department is continuing to work to bring an end to incidents like this and is investigating several incidents.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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