Grocery store customer attacked by shopper, MO cops say. ‘Go back to your... country’
A man shopping in a Missouri grocery store was attacked in an unprovoked, racially-motivated incident, authorities say.
The victim in the Feb. 21 incident at a Dierbergs store on Olive Boulevard in St. Louis County said he was walking in an aisle when a man, later identified as Shawn Singer, passed him and mumbled something, according to a criminal complaint.
When the victim asked Singer what he said, he replied, “Go back to your... country,” the St. Louis County Police Department said.
Singer was asked by the victim what he did to offend him, at which point Singer raised his fists and swung them toward the other man, whose race was not disclosed, according to the court records.
Singer’s actions caused the victim to fall to the floor, and Singer then began to punch him “repeatedly in the face and upper body,” police said.
A bystander was unable to get Singer off the victim, officers said. It wasn’t until the bystander called 911 that Singer “broke off the assault.”
“It was just me. I’m not saying anything else,” Singer told officers, but the St. Louis man was not done speaking.
While in handcuffs, Singer made several spontaneous comments about the motive behind his alleged actions.
“I’m tired of foreigners, man,” he said, according to police. “Walking all over the place, making our money cost so much more than it should. People trampling over us. I’m next... going to China to take them down because they were part of the Covid... virus.”
He also blamed the so-called “foreigners” for taking away jobs of native workers, per the criminal complaint.
“Why you such a punk, man?” Singer asked the arresting officer, according to the court documents. “Can’t you see what I’m trying to do? People from other countries trying to take our jobs.”
Officers did not say if the victim suffered serious injuries.
Singer was charged with fourth-degree assault motivated by discrimination, court records show.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Grocery store customer attacked by shopper, MO cops say. ‘Go back to your... country’."