Posted on 12/26/2003 7:43:37 AM PST by Chi-townChief
Matthew Baures loves Christmas, but he learned the hard way that there is very little holiday cheer while waiting in line at a Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve.
The 22-year-old Berwyn man was pummeled with a baseball bat and beaten by as many as four people after a dispute over a place in line at a Forest Park Wal-Mart.
"I couldn't believe someone would actually do this on Christmas Eve,'' Baures said Thursday as he nursed a bruised eye and aching tailbone and ribs.
Forest Park police were looking for two to four male suspects in the incident. There had been no arrests by Thursday afternoon, but police "have some good leads,'' Sgt. Mike Keating said.
Baures, an unemployed Web designer, was last-minute shopping with his girlfriend and another friend at the Wal-Mart at 1300 Des Plaines Ave. about 6 p.m. Wednesday. They picked up some toy race cars, Batman figures and other gifts for his girlfriend's children, along with some household goods.
The checkout lines were "the longest I've ever seen at a store,'' Baures said. His girlfriend went to the car while he waited with their friend. There were so many people it was confusing exactly where the ends of the lines were, he said.
They got into one line, and a girl began yelling at them they had cut in front of her. Baures and his friend argued with her, but let the girl go in front of them. The girl proceeded to allow what appeared to be her mother and friends to cut in front as well, but neither Baures nor his friend objected.
At one point the girl began staring at his friend "like she was going to kill her,'' Baures recalled, and they asked the girl's mother to ask the girl to stop. That led to an even bigger argument.
At that point, Baures says, he loudly proclaimed, "It's Christmas Eve. I just want to go home.''
But as Baures and his friend left the store after about a half-hour in the checkout line, they passed the group of women, who were talking on cell phones. Then he realized they were being followed, and the group now included boys and men, including one who was carrying a baseball bat.
"This young kid comes up to me with a baseball bat, saying, 'What did you say to my sister?' '' Baures recalled. "He was holding the bat like he was going to hit me, so I grabbed the bat.''
Another man then punched him in the face, and he fell down. Several men began hitting, punching and kicking him in his face, ribs and back. His friend then jumped on top of him and said, "Please stop hitting.''
Then the men pummeled her.
"All I could think as I lay there on the ground was, 'I cannot believe this is happening on Christmas Eve.' '' Baures said. "It was over nothing. They went straight to violence.''
Although a crowd formed, no one came to their aid, Baures said. But someone did provide police with the license plate number of a light-colored Cadillac in which some of the men fled. Others left in a different car.
Baures said Wal-Mart security did little to either calm the situation in the store or break up the fight in the parking lot. No one answered the store's phone on Thursday.
Forest Park police, who arrived after the fight, said they didn't know how security responded, but said tempers flared in the stress of the holiday rush.
"I'm glad I got my shopping done early,'' Keating said.
Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone said, "It's sad that anyone would resort to that type of conduct, especially with the holiday, but any day of the year.''
Baures was treated by Forest Park paramedics and declined to go to the hospital because he has no health insurance. But he said he was in so much pain he slept through most of Christmas Day and decided not to visit his family.
"I feel bad it happened but at least I'm not dead,'' he said. "It didn't dampen my Christmas spirit. The only thing broken on me is my heart.''
I don't, ever!
The thieves then went to another Wal-Mart and used my credit card and that Wal-Mart's security was even less helpful.
Because of this incident and another incident I have absolutely no faith at all in Wal-Mart's "security". It's every man for himself in that store but guess where I ended up doing some of my shopping this Christmas?!?
I agree with that. You can just be out minding your own business and not have a mean thought in your head and sh*t will find you. It doesn't take much with some people if anything at all. If they even perceive a slight you could end up with a baseball bat to the head or a bullet hole in your chest. I think other people's existence is all it takes to provoke some.
I agree completely, we have free speech, people can say what they want to. no matter what anyone says it does not justify a violent reaction.
Even if this guy was a total jerk, cut in line, said rude things whatever, (I suspect it was far less one sided than that) no one has a right to hit him with a bat for it.
With the security cameras that wally world uses they do have footage of this.
Isn't that the only kind?
Is this guy really innocent? or did he in fact try to cut in line. What DID he say to that person's sister?
I find it hard to think that this guy was really innocent, and that he was attacked for no reason. Nobody else was attacked, why was he attacked?
I am guessing that he really did say something bad/profane to that woman.
You said it much better than I did.
There is no ccw in Illinois.
Free trade bump.
Out of the thousands/millions of people who use profane language, who use racial slurs, who cut in lines every day, etc. this was the only guy to actually get a beating on Christmas eve. I want to know what he really said/did also.
Are you the type of person who would go into a ghetto at night, surrounded by hundreds of minorities, get out of your car and yell out the n- word at them? Do you think that is ok to do? How often do you do it?
Is that "free speech"? Is that what Thomas Jefferson wanted/intended you to do?
If he can show security was anywhere around the attack on Wal-Mart property and didn't stop it, I'm all for him suing Wal-Mart. I would think that Wal-Mart security has some responsibility to intervene if customers are getting beaten up on its premises.
I can't believe anyone thinks people are not sometimes attacked for no real reason. Of course they are.
So he happened to be the person who happened to set them off, so what.
He was being beaten by a large number of people and there are people on this thread trying to blame him.
Absolutely disgusting.
From the article:
But someone did provide police with the license plate number of a light-colored Cadillac in which some of the men fled.
Hmm, one can only guess.
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