Ciara Caldwell describes the attack as unprovoked following a verbal exchange at the checkout in a Dollar General located in unincorporated Stonecrest.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A woman from the Atlanta metro area is voicing her concerns after a violent incident at a Dollar General in unincorporated Stonecrest was captured on video Sunday night.
Ciara Caldwell said she had just stepped into the store along Klondike Road to grab a pan when she got in line to check out.
That’s when, she says, a man walked in front of her.
“I let him know the line was behind me,” Caldwell said. “He turns around and says—[expletive].”
She replied to the guy, “Yeah, I’m like it’s not that serious you know.”
Caldwell said she brushed it off and went to another register when an employee called her over.
Moments later, as she began to leave, the man turned toward her.
“He turns around and immediately started punching me in my face,” she said.
In the video you can see him hit Caldwell twice before falling to the ground.
She said the man didn’t immediately leave.
“He approached me again while I was seated, standing over me as if he intended to assault me once more,” Caldwell explained. “I was terrified for my life and unsure if he possessed a weapon.”
What shocked her just as much as the attack, she says, was that no one in the store stepped in to help.
“You would think someone would say, ‘Hey man chill,’ or ‘Stop.’ Nobody said anything,” Caldwell said. “If you heard the actual video—I’m screaming.”
Caldwell said she did not know the man. She described him as wearing a red Julio Jones Falcons jersey, a hat, sunglasses and a blue surgical mask.
She believes the man attempted to pay for items, but his debit card was declined. That, she says, may have added to his anger.
“He attempted to use his debit card, but the transaction was declined,” Caldwell stated. “They mentioned they couldn’t obtain his information. I’m uncertain if that triggered his anger since I don’t know the man.”
DeKalb County police have not released further information on the suspect. Caldwell says she wants him caught before he hurts someone else.
You can watch the surveillance video from inside the Dollar General store below.
