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A brawl broke out in a Bath & Body Works in Scottsdale Fashion Square on March 6, 2021.

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Police said two women received citations for assault and disorderly conduct in connection to a brawl between employees and customers at a Bath & Body Works in Scottsdale on Saturday. 

Scottsdale police said they responded to a report of a disturbance shortly before 5 p.m. inside the store at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Officers arrived after the situation had de-escalated and cited a young woman and her mother-in-law with misdemeanors in connection with the fight. The Arizona Republic is not naming the two women because they are not facing felony charges.

Through an investigation, police said an argument and confrontation escalated into a physical fight between two groups of people over cutting in line. Police interviewed the women involved, employees and witnesses and reviewed surveillance video. 

Police report gives more insight into what happened

It started when a mother was waiting in line to pay with her baby in a stroller. She was standing off to the side in an attempt to physically distance.

Three related women waiting in line together stepped up to pay and the mother asked if they couldn’t see her and her baby standing there, the women told police. 

The mother said the young woman put her body over her daughter’s stroller so she told her to back up, according to the police report.

The young woman and her mother-in-law began arguing with the mother. The mother told police that the mother-in-law pushed her stroller and “slightly” pushed her.

Video posted to Instagram shows four employees attempting to separate the women and telling the young woman and her mother-in-law to leave while the mother stands several feet away behind a candle display.

Then, the mother tells the mother-in-law that she’s “trailer park trash,” at which point the young woman, wearing all black, walks back over to the mother and can be seen yelling at her and then throwing a bag at her, which hits an employee in the face. 

The mother-in-law, wearing black and white, can be seen trying to push past an employee trying to get to the altercation. The employee tried to push her back, but made contact with her face, the police report said.

The mother-in-law then ripped off the employee’s mask, grabbed the employee’s hair and wrestled with her until another employee tried to assist and told police she put the mother-in-law in a headlock to stop the fighting, bringing all three of them to the ground, the report said.

Another employee then separated them and pushed the related women out of the store.

An off-duty officer arrived at the store after the physical fight but said people were still yelling and pointing at each other. The women continued arguing so the officer grabbed the mother-in-law by the arms and pulled her away from the mother, reports said. The two related women were then taken to the security office. The third related woman was never involved.

Bath & Body Works employees told police the mother tried repeatedly to keep her distance but that the women kept approaching her. The employee who can be seen being pulled to the ground by her hair said her glasses were broken in the fight but declined to pursue charges.

Police said the online video and store surveillance video confirms that the two related women were the physical aggressors and that employees were trying to peacefully trespass the women. 

Millions watch viral video of the incident 

Genevieve Denslow shared her video of anotherangle of the fight with The Arizona Republic. It has garnered millions of views since it was first posted online and prompted a response from a state representative to support an anti-mask bill. 

Scottsdale police said there is no evidence to support online claims that the altercation was racially motivated or about COVID-19, masks or social distancing. 

Police determined probable cause for citing the women on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct, according to Officer Kevin Watts, a spokesperson for Scottsdale police.

Both women were released at the scene, Watts said. 

The police report said the Bath & Body Works store confirmed they would aid in prosecution as a victim for disorderly conduct.

A Bath & Body Works spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Monday that “we are deeply concerned by the incident in one of our stores and are currently investigating the matter in partnership with local law enforcement.” 

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Audreyj101.

Reach breaking news reporter Michael McDaniel at [email protected] or on Twitter @themikemcdaniel.

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