A man fought with an employee at a Lake View grocery store Wednesday before he was stabbed by another man defending himself and then re-entered the store by breaking a window to continue fighting.
The altercation began about 9:30 p.m. when the man entered a Jewel-Osco in the 3500 block of North Broadway and tried to leave without paying for merchandise, authorities said.
He became aggressive toward an employee who tried to stop him, Chicago police said. He allegedly shoved a 20-year-old woman trying to intervene and then punched a 42-year-old man in the mouth.
The 42-year-old pulled out a pocket knife and slashed the suspect in self defense, police said.
The suspect left the store, broke a shop window and climbed back inside, police said. He allegedly punched another man while being chased out of the broken window.
Officers and paramedics met the suspect outside, but he refused treatment, police said. They followed him as he walked to Illinois Masonic Medical Center for treatment to lacerations believed to be from the stabbing and the broken window.
The man was later arrested for battery and criminal damage to property. No charges have been filed.
The Lake View Jewel-Osco is the site of where an alleged shoplifter died in November 2019 while in custody of store security. Autopsy results revealed the 55-year-old man died of heart disease with “stress due to physical restraint” and methamphetamine intoxication as contributing factors, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
