CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies in Southwest Florida arrested a man accused of attacking a pregnant woman inside a Publix Wednesday afternoon.
Police said the suspect, Tyler Shepard, hit a woman and her unborn child so severely it sent her to the hospital.
"It's horrible. I'm very dismayed to hear that," Publix shopper Barbara Underwood said. "It seems to be a sign of the times," she added.
According to the arrest report, the suspect and victim were shopping separately inside the grocery store when the attack occurred.
Investigators said Shepard tried to grab her purse and the victim tried to stop him. Shepard then punched her in the face and ran away with the woman's purse.
"I'm surprised the guy walked out of here," Randy Hanzel, another Publix shopper said.
Hanzel and other Publix shoppers said they would've stepped in if they saw the attack in person.
"I'd like to think I would've done something like clobber him with my purse," Underwood said.
Sheriff deputies caught up and arrested Shepard, who faces an aggravated battery charge on a pregnant person. Shepard's punch was severe enough to break the victim's nose.
"You're a real coward," Underwood said. "Did it take that to make you feel like a man?"
