A 54-year-old Imperial woman claims another woman assaulted her at an Arnold store after the two got into an argument about social distancing and wearing masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19. During the argument, the suspect allegedly hit and knocked down the Imperial woman, Arnold Police reported.
The alleged assault happened around 4:45 p.m. April 27 at the Dollar Tree, 906 Arnold Commons Drive, the report said.
The Imperial woman told police that while she was in the store, she commented out loud about the suspect not wearing a mask and told the suspect to stay 6 feet away from her. The suspect then allegedly cursed at the Imperial woman, according to the report.
The Imperial woman said she used her phone to take a picture of the suspect, who allegedly turned around and slapped the Imperial woman, who fell to the ground. The suspect then reportedly grabbed the Imperial woman by her hair, but an employee separated the women, the report said.
The alleged assailant then reportedly left the store with a female teenager. The alleged victim was not seriously hurt, according to the report.
Capt. Rich Shular said the pictures the Imperial woman took only got an image of the back of the alleged assailant, and as of May 7, police had not identified her.
Shular said as far as he knows, it was the first report Arnold Police had received involving a violent disagreement because of people not wearing face masks or following social-distancing guidelines during the pandemic.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Arnold Police at 636-296-3204.
