GEORGE NEWS - The woman who was involved in a physical altercation with a security guard at the Garden Route Mall last night, alleges that the guard in question assaulted her, but her version of events is contradicted by two eyewitnesses – one of whom contacted the George Herald shortly after the first online article about the violent scrap was published early this afternoon.
The article stated that George Herald was planning to interview the woman and an eyewitness then sent a private Facebook message (to the George Herald Facebook page), saying he saw what happened from the start and wanted readers to know the truth.
In a telephonic interview this afternoon, the woman told George Herald: “He pushed me, then he hit me with the fist and head-butted me.”
But, both eyewitnesses say they saw something completely different and that it was in fact the woman who became aggressive and physically abusive.
The one eyewitness told George Herald that the woman entered the mall without her mask and that the altercation between her and the security guard ensued after she refused to wear a mask.
“She entered the mall shortly before closing time last night and the security guard stopped her. They had words, a confrontation ensued and she slapped the guard through his face,” he said.
The second eyewitness said he saw the entire incident from the beginning. “She ran into the mall. I didn’t see a mask. The security guard called after her, she turned around and stuck her finger in his face and shouted at him. She pushed him, he pushed her back and the rest is history,” he said.
A video of the altercation between the woman and the guard, followed by a flying tackle of the guard by the woman’s fiancé, went viral on Facebook shortly after the incident.
In the video the woman and the security guard can be seen in a physical and verbal confrontation with bystanders trying to intervene, when out of nowhere her fiancé tackles the guard rugby style. The struggle continues for a while and the fight eventually breaks up.
The person who recorded the video, unfortunately only started recording after the situation had already gotten out of hand. But, the mall’s security cameras could have captured the entire event, and George Herald will try to establish if a recording exists.
According to the woman, who wishes to have her identity withheld, she entered the mall with her mask in one hand, handbag in the other.
“I ran in to look for my mother who was exchanging an item of clothing that was too small for her. I had the purchase slip with me. As I entered the mall I tried to put my mask on with one hand while running and looking for my mother. I was about 15 or 20 metres into the mall when I heard someone screaming at me. I turned around and the security guard was walking towards me, shouting at me to put on my mask. I indicated to him that I was trying to and told him we were on our way out as it was,” she said.
According to her, the guard kept coming closer and they had words after which he assaulted her.
“When my mother saw what was happening she ran and called my fiancé. He saw it and went at the security guard. Wouldn’t any man do the same if his wife-to-be is being assaulted?”
The couple indicated that they will be laying charges at the police station soon. “We couldn’t go today. I could barely get out of bed, never mind try to walk. I have bruises on my face and my body hurts,” the woman said.
The police is investigating a case of assault, reported by the security guard this morning.
* George Herald this afternoon tried to make contact with the security guard involved in the incident. His colleagues, however, informed us that he was off-duty and that he would be back at work in the next few days. They did not want to supply George Herald with his contact number.
The contents of this article has been amended to reflect the version of events supplied by the eyewitnesses earlier in the article.
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