Caught on camera: Man appears to strike special needs teen at Bucks County Walmart
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Who would hit a teen with special needs inside a Walmart? That’s exactly what police in Bucks County say one man did over the weekend and now they want to find him.
Caught on camera in Bucks County, police say a 16-year-old boy with special needs was shopping with his family when a man walks by and, for no apparent reason, appears to hit the boy in the face.
Shopper Lisa Bogart has a daughter with special needs.
“She has Cerebral Palsy and she’s in a wheelchair and totally dependent upon me to take care of her so, yes, it’s very upsetting to see that,” Bogart stated.
Richland Township Police say it happened Saturday, just after noon, at the Walmart Supercenter along 309.
Police released a picture of the man accused of striking the teen, who, they say, immediately left the store. They have no clue why the man did it.
“Here we’re dealing with someone who has special needs, a child. Even if it wasn’t special needs, it’s a child. Someone stuck another child, so we’re looking into possibly even looking at it as a child abuse case,” Richland Township Police Chief Rich Ficco stated.
“Oh! Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to say. That’s horrible! That’s horrible, especially for around here,” shopper Pat Gallagher exclaimed.
“I guess because it’s closer to home, it’s a little bit more surprising, but with the world we live in today,” remarked resident Nicole Frazier.
Shoppers say they are grateful police are taking the situation seriously. Chuck Popivchak says he hopes if people witness something like that, they would do something.
“It’s pretty atrocious to me. I can’t imagine somebody would do something like that,” Popivchak added.
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