Woman beaten, pepper sprayed in Walmart brawl

DETROIT — A woman was hit in the head and pepper sprayed during a fight near the checkout lanes at a Walmart in Michigan this week, the latest in a string of headline-grabbing brawls at the retailing giant.

The scuffle broke out at 9 p.m. Monday at a store in Dearborn, Mich., according to police.

Investigators are still searching for three suspects and seek the public's assistance.

"This type of behavior will not be tolerated in Dearborn. I urge the public to come forward and provide us with the identities of these suspects," said Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad.

According to police, a 35-year-old woman said she had a verbal argument with two women. A third suspect walked up behind the victim and struck her in the head, police said.

"As the victim fell forward, the third suspect produced a pepper agent and sprayed the victim in the face," Dearborn Police said in a news release.

The three suspects fled. The woman suffered minor injuries from the pepper spray.

Dearborn Police Lt. Gary Mann said the argument began after one of the suspect's young children, who was running around the store, nearly collided with the victim. Words were exchanged and the incident escalated, he said.

Dearborn Police released still and video images from the store, urging members of the public to come forward if they recognize the suspects. One suspect is seen walking out of the store carrying a small child.

The incident comes less than a week after a fight over a notebook between shoppers at a Walmart in Novi, Mich., resulted in one woman pulling a gun.

There have been plenty of other recent incidents of Walmart scuffles — many caught on cell phone video — ranging from women fighting over a shampoo bottle to an employee getting her hair pulled out during a slug fest with a customer.