DETROIT – A family said they were trying to return a non-functioning Atari game system that they had bought at a Family Dollar store in Detroit when the situation got ugly.
The Family Dollar is located in the area of Dexter Avenue and Davison Street.
Katrese Strong and her boyfriend, Ernest Thomas, spent $40 on it and wanted their money back. The receipt said no returns or exchanges.
READ: Detroit police investigating brawl at Family Dollar store on city’s west side
“They (the employees) kept getting loud and smart and just bad attitude, bad customer service skills,” Strong said.
She said an employee ripped the box and shoved it at her.
“I got angry and threw it on the floor. She disrespected me and then she came out from behind the counter,” Strong said.
Strong said she can’t remember who threw the first punch, but it ended with her getting hit with a shovel and her boyfriend punched by, she said, store employees.
“They tried to jump on us again and lock us in the Family Dollar, but I grabbed my girl and pushed her out of there,” Thomas said.
A bystander pulled out their cellphone and recorded the brawl, but not what led up to it.
Detroit police are investigating and it’s unclear whether store surveillance cameras caught the entire exchange.