DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. – A 75-year-old man who recently had heart surgery was punched in the chest and knocked to the ground after asking a woman to maintain social distancing in a Florida grocery store, police said.
The incident began Sunday evening as the man was checking out at a Publix store, Daytona Beach Shores police Capt. Mike Fowler said.
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A woman cut in close behind him, and he asked her to follow the markings on the floor that noted the proper distance between customers, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
According to a police report, a younger man who was with the woman but in a different check-out line, met the woman and left the store with her.
The older man had also left the store and was putting his groceries into his vehicle when another vehicle drove up and stopped, Fowler said. The man who was with the woman got out and hit him.
The victim told police that the man called him a name and accused him of holding up the line inside the store.
“He punches him and he falls to the ground and hits his head,” Fowler said, adding that the attacker then stood over the man and threatened to kill him.
Police said the man and woman left in a late-model Cadillac. Investigators are searching for the pair.