A woman who shot pepper spray at other customers at a busy Wal-Mart store in Porter Ranch, injuring 20, will soon see her picture in the media, a police sergeant said.
"It generally takes a day or two to coordinate with Wal-Mart Security'' to get video footage shot around a store, said Sgt. A.J. De Bellis at the Los Angeles Police Department Devonshire Station.
As for charges, "at the very least, it's battery,'' De Bellis said, "a minimum of one charge per involved person. Not a very bright thing (for her) to have done.''
The sergeant said the Wal-Mart video should be clear enough to help identify the suspect. "Eventually this will catch up with her,'' he said.
"It was an unhappy customer,'' who spritzed pepper spray at the Wal-Mart, 19821 Rinaldi Street, around 10:10 p.m. Thanksgiving night, said LAPD Lt. Abel Parga, watch commander at the Devonshire Station. The suspect then left the area. The suspect is a woman, LAPD Officer P. Rimkunas said.
"The female suspect was waiting with other shoppers for some items wrapped in plastic to be released for sale at 10 p.m.,'' Rimkunas said. "When the plastic was ripped off, she sprayed.''
There are broadcast reports the woman grabbed an XBox and purchased it as she left the scene.
Firefighters treated 20 patients for minor injuries, fire department spokesman Shawn Lenske said. All the patients have been treated and released, Lenske said shortly before 1 a.m.
One section of the store was cleared while patients were treated and the pepper spray dissipated, Parga said. Meanwhile, the store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray continued shopping.
