KTLA

Ralphs employee attacked after stopping alleged shoplifter in Los Angeles

Police are searching for a group of people responsible for assaulting a Ralphs employee in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles Monday.

KTLA obtained videos from a store employee of the attack inside the store located at 17840 Ventura Blvd. around 4:45 p.m.

The first video shows three suspects, one woman and two men, walking into the store and confronting an unidentified male store employee standing near a female employee.

Video shows a Ralphs worker being assaulted in Encino, California on June 10, 2024. (viewer image)

Within seconds, one of the suspects throws a punch at the male employee before the scuffle briefly moves out of the camera’s view. 

The fight comes back into view, showing the victim being attacked by multiple suspects.

The employee who provided the video said that at one point, a suspect shoved a shopping cart into the victim.

Another angle of the incident shows the store employee trying to run from the suspects after the first punch is thrown. 

According to the employee who provided the video, the incident began earlier in the day when that same employee stopped the young woman from stealing bags full of merchandise.

The employee told KTLA that a few hours later, the same woman returned with the men seen in the video.

A spokesperson for Ralphs issued the following statement in response to the incident:

“We are deeply saddened by a senseless act of violence that took place at our store at our Ralphs in Encino, yesterday. Safety remains one of our core values and is top priority. We are working in full cooperation with local law enforcement to support their ongoing investigation and identifying the suspect(s),” the statement read.

A spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department said that officers responded to the store about the incident but have not confirmed any details.

There was no mention of any injuries resulting from the altercation, police said.