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Black Friday Pepper Sprayer Says She Did It For Her Children, Lawyers Up for Possible Suit Against Walmart, Says She Never Even Got an Xbox
Screenshot (YouTube)
The woman who pepper-sprayed other Walmart shoppers in Porter Ranch angling to get a Black Friday deal on an Xbox has lawyered up for a possible suit against Walmart. Now her lawyer is speaking out and offering up her side of the story: she did it for the children.
Attorney Michael Champ told the Daily News that his client 32-year-old Elizabeth Macias was shopping with her teenage son and daughter on the eve of Black Friday. He says that at one point each of her children had managed to snag an Xbox. That's when a large man punched her son and tried to wrestle the console away from him. Champ told ABC News that her daughter was also being punched and kicked. He says when Macias whipped out the pepper spray and started spraying, that was just her mama bear instincts kicking in.
"(Elizabeth) didn't use the pepper spray to have a competitive shopping advantage," Champ told the Daily News. "She responded as any mother would."
Earlier reports suggested that Macias was a "competitive shopper" angling for an advantage among an unruly crowd at Walmart and that she was able to buy an Xbox before leaving. Champ said these stories aren't true: she only sprayed in self-defense and she left Walmart without an Xbox.
Macias turned herself in that Saturday, but ABC News reports that she refused to answer questions by the police. The DA declined to press charges against Macias. City attorneys are deciding whether or not to file misdemeanor charges.
And now Macias is going on the offensive. Champ told the Daily News and ABC that she is considering filing a suit against Walmart for not providing adequate security. He said she and her children was "traumatized" by the incident.
The same might be said of other shoppers who got sprayed by Macias: "[The victims'] faces were red," shopper John Lopez said. "This one guy was coming up to my wife going, 'Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!'"
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In case you need a refresher, here's the video from the incident:
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