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Man smacked with metal object at Stonecrest Mall
The family of the 25-year-old man hit on the head by a metal object says his injuries were so severe it damaged his spine and he needed a plate in his head.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County police are investigating an assault that happened inside Stonecrest Mall over the weekend. Cell phone video of the assault captured the moments a store employee struck a shopper in the head with a metal object.
While that video has been making its way around social media, family members of 25-year-old Dekwan Jackson told FOX 5 his injuries were so severe he had to have surgery.
"He hit the ground so hard…you know how you get carpet burns? He has one and his is down to the white meat," his aunt Marquita Jackson said.
Authorities with DeKalb County police confirmed its investigators are looking into the incident involving Jackson and an employee at Player’s Closet, a store inside the mall.
A viral video shows a man being hit at Stonecrest Mall,
Jackson can be seen in the video seconds after the altercation stumbling to the mall’s exit. His aunt said an ambulance rushed him to a local hospital shortly after. That’s where the family found out just how serious his injuries were.
"He later had to have surgery on his spine, had to have metal plates put into his head his neck and a rod down his spine," his aunt explained.
A spokesperson for Player’s Closet said moments before that video was recorded, their store surveillance caught Jackson stealing and the employee confronted him.
"He accused him of taking a shirt," Jackson’s mother Yvette said.
Dekwan Jackson after being struck by an employee at a store at Stonecrest Mall. (Family photo)
The store spokesperson went on to said Jackson threatened the employee saying he had a gun and reached for his waist "provocatively" before leaving the store.
"You damaged his spine…nothing in this world is that deep," his aunt said.
Jackson’s mother said she’s angry that instead of letting security determine whether that was true, the employee took matters into his own hands.
"You’re not supposed to leave your store and follow him all the way around to like half of the entrance of the door to hit him in the head with a pole," she said.
A spokesperson for Urban Retail Properties, the group that owns the Mall at Stonecrest, released a statement saying:
"We are extremely concerned to hear about this unfortunate incident. The Mall At Stonecrest is currently working with the DeKalb County Police Department while this incident is under investigation."
It’s unclear whether charges will be filed against either party. DeKalb County police said the investigation into the assault is ongoing.