SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Walgreens employee who was assaulted while working at her register is sharing her story in hopes of helping police track down her attacker.
Jackie Rivera was about eight hours into her shift at the Walgreens on University Ave. in Hillcrest when a man she recognized walked through the doors. Rivera says the man, who appears to be in his 30s, visits the pharmacy multiple times daily and has caused problems before.
"He just goes to aisle, throws everyone on the ground. He is always stealing.” Rivera said.
She had photographed the man about a month ago after she said he stole food and ate it near the back door of the store.
Two weeks ago, on a Monday afternoon, Rivera saw the man wearing an SDSU cap coming down the aisle while she was at the register. When she told him to leave and pointed to the door, the situation escalated quickly.
"I lift my hand up and said ‘Get out,’ and pointed to the door. He lifted his hand, and I said,’ Oh no.’ I turned my head," Rivera said.
From about 30 feet away, the man threw what turned out to be a massage gun at Rivera, striking her in the head.
"When it hit, right in my head, I didn't know what it was. Then I saw, ‘Oh my God.’ I'm bleeding," Rivera said.
The man fled the scene, leaving Rivera with a headache that lasted a day. Two weeks later, the details of the assault remain vivid for her.
The incident appears connected to another assault that occurred just 10 minutes earlier at a CVS located blocks from the Walgreens. Police say a man fitting the same description was vandalizing the CVS when customer James Stephens, who was waiting to fill a prescription, told him to stop.
"I didn't see anything, just remember being punched in the head," Stephens said.
Rivera learned about the CVS incident when the story was first reported last Friday. Her reaction was one of concern.
"I was surprised. I'm not the only one that got hurt," Rivera said.
After learning she wasn't the only victim, Rivera's daughter reached out to ABC 10News. Rivera decided to share her story publicly, hoping it would help authorities track down her attacker.
"It's sad. How many people are going to get hurt? Somebody like that should not be out there. How about if he gets a knife or something, and somebody really gets hurt?" Rivera said.
In a statement, Walgreens said the safety of customers and team members is their highest priority and that they are cooperating with law enforcement.
Rivera has since quit her job at Walgreens, saying the assault was one of several reasons for her departure.
The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male in his 30s with a thin build, approximately 5’8”, wearing a red SDSU hat, dark long-sleeve sweatshirt or hoodie, red shorts, and a gray backpack.
Anyone with information related to these incidents is encouraged to contact the San Diego Police Department Western Division detectives at 619-692-4800.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
