Southhaven, Mississippi, police officers are investing a brutal assault involving a Black woman who was attacked for asking how to make a pumpkin pie.
During the week of Nov. 21, Nia Jones was shopping for last-minute Thanksgiving items at Kroger when she came face to face with a man on the baking aisle.
In an exclusive interview with WMC Action News 5, Jones recalled the unexpected response from the customer.
She asked him, “Do you know how to make a pie?” She said the man reacted strangely, giving her a odd look and continuing down the aisle while shouting expletives.
Then, he returned. The man shoved Jones’ friend, then punched Jones three times in the face and once in the abdomen area.
“It’s a question. It’s a simple question. ‘Do you know how to make a pie?’ You’re on the baking aisle of Kroger,” Jones recalls. “[Then] he shoved my friend and the other lady into the shelves. And he turned around a sucker punched me.”
None of the other customers tried to help or in any way intervene on Jones’ behalf. She claimed they all ignored the assault. Jones’ mother, Stacey Rochell, was completely mystified by their inaction.
“How did they let this happen?” Rochell asked. “If there was already a scene that was created, a commotion created. It was loud. Why didn’t someone address the gentleman at the time?”
As of this report, police are investigating the assault. Kroger released a short statement saying that they are “working with the Southaven Police Department during this ongoing investigation.”
Police are reportedly reviewing surveillance video to identify the suspect.
