CVS employees fight with customer at Chicago store, video shows

Footage of a CVS employee punching a customer outside his store after the man turned on him following an argument has gone viral online.

The 42-second clip, which is believed to have been filmed at a store in Chicago, appears to have been filmed by an onlooker as the worker repeatedly punches the customer, sending him back through the doors and into the street. The images were uploaded to the video sharing site Tik Tok before being shared on social media site X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday, although it is unclear when the incident occurred or why it happened.

The altercation comes when the city remains under the hands of a crime wave years. former mayor, Lori Lightfoota Democrat who took office in 2019, has faced off criticism for his management of the situation and was replaced as mayor by Brandon Johnson in March, who has pledged to improve public safety. But Chicago is not the only city that fights crime on its streets and in its stores; US cities have been struggling deal with a increase in thefts and violence against store staff, driven by organized retail crime and a current “flash mob” trend or shoplifting from “street pick-up” stores..

However, it is unclear what sparked the violence at the CVS store in the footage.

A TikTok account named @locos.chicago has been credited for originally sharing the clip and also published in X by an account called Citizen Free Press, where it has been seen by more than 36,600 viewers.

As the video begins, a worker and a customer face off in front of a bottled water display near the doors. It looks like there’s already a dispute going on, and that’s likely why the viewer started filming. The CVS worker, dressed in his uniform, with a heart on the back of his shirt, holds a man with his left arm as he bends down to pick something up from the floor. He shoves it into the man’s chest, which is when the customer aims a punch at his face but misses when the worker turns back.

The employee then walks over to the customer and begins hitting him repeatedly as he walks him out of the store. One of the men yells, “Bitch!” during the brief fight.

The camera follows the couple outside as the men grunt with effort, and as the customer staggers backwards, the CVS employee quickly removes his glasses and puts them in his pocket.

The customer turns to the employee and asks, “What are you doing? What are you doing?” The worker does not answer, but raises his fists in a defensive posture.

A woman’s voice can then be heard in the video, standing outside the shot but close to the camera.

“Don’t do this,” he tells the men, telling the CVS worker, “Don’t risk your life not to work!”

At this point, the customer picks up a purple backpack that had been lying on the floor and leaves. The worker seems calm when he returns to the store. In response to the woman’s pleas not to risk her life for her work, he replies, “No, I don’t.” He then gestures towards the camera and appears to be asking it to stop filming.

It is unclear what sparked the dispute and Newsweek CVS and the Chicago Police Department have been contacted by email for further information and comment.

Earlier this year, the Chicago Police Department released statistics comparing crime for the same week in January over the past few years. The figures made worrying reading, as the city saw a constant and dramatic increase in global crime. Looking at the week of January 16-22 this year, there were 4,844 crimes (including murder, sexual assault, burglary and theft). The previous year, in 2022, there had been 3,013 crimes in that particular week, while in 2021 there had been 2,464 crimes during that time period.

White House press secretary Only Psaki he was even forced to address the crime levels affecting Chicago in 2021.

“When there’s been an increase in crime rates across the country, including Chicago, for 18 months or more … unfortunately, not a dime is going to come out,” he said. “We’re working with Chicago.”