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Stranger repeatedly punches 64-year-old woman in Publix, sending her to ICU, AL cops say

A 64-year-old woman was pushed to the floor and struck multiple times after a disagreement with a stranger inside a Tuscaloosa Publix, Alabama police say. 
A 64-year-old woman was pushed to the floor and struck multiple times after a disagreement with a stranger inside a Tuscaloosa Publix, Alabama police say.  Street View Image from July 2019 © 2022 Google

A 64-year-old woman was assaulted and hospitalized after she and a stranger got into an argument at a grocery store, Alabama police say.

The man and woman got into a minor disagreement at a Publix on University Drive in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, Sept. 20. reported WBRC.

Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes detectives say 28-year-old Joseph Dion Little then pushed the victim to the ground and punched her several times, according to WBRC and ABC 3340.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital with cuts, an eye injury and a brain bleed, reported WIAT, and stayed in the intensive care unit for an undisclosed period of time.

Publix did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment, and contact information for Little was not immediately available.

Little was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, according to ABC 3340, with bail set at $50,000.

More than 1.2 million acts of violent crime occurred nationwide in 2019, according to the FBI. They consider “violent crime” to include aggravated assault, robbery, rape, non-negligent manslaughter and murder.

Tuscaloosa is about 60 miles southwest of Birmingham.

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Emmalyse Brownstein
McClatchy DC
Emmalyse Brownstein is a National Real-Time Reporter covering the Southeast. She’s an alumna of the University of Miami, where she was editor-in-chief of Distraction Magazine. She has reported for Miami New Times, Wine Spectator and more.
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