Academy Sports employees in White Settlement chased, pepper-sprayed by customer

A customer at Academy Sports and Outdoor chased employees around the store and pepper-sprayed some of them, according to 911 calls heard by the Star-Telegram.

White Settlement police said four employees showed signs of being pepper-sprayed and they are close to fully identifying a suspect using Flock Safety cameras.

Two employees at the store in White Settlement called 911 around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday. The first told the dispatcher that a woman was chasing one employee around the story, trying to fight her. Eventually that employee took shelter in a changing room, according to the 911 caller.

Another caller told authorities that multiple employees had been pepper-sprayed by the woman. The callers told a dispatcher the woman then left the store, got in a white Nissan sedan and fled the store at 1701 South Cherry St., north of Interstate 30.

White Settlement police arrived at the store just after the woman left.

Police said in a news release that all the employees were treated at the scene and are expected to be OK. One caller told dispatchers the employees were using an eye wash station in the store before police arrived.

A manager at the store was the first to be attacked, according to police. He told investigators he asked the woman to leave because of suspicious behavior similar to previous theft offenses, like pushing a cart full of clothes to the dressing room and leaving it there while she went to get another cart.

When the manager confronted the woman she sprayed the manager, according to police. Other employees came to help the manager and were also sprayed.

Police intend to charge the woman with four counts of assault after they identify her, according to the release. A warrant may not be available until Friday, due to the July Fourth holiday. Other charges could be added, including misdemeanor charges for using chemical spray in the commission of an assault.

In 2023, a man was arrested for assaulting a teen girl with autism in the women’s bathroom at the same Academy store, authorities said at the time of his arrest.

He was accused of forcing the teen to take a white pill. She was later found on the floor of the bathroom, foaming at the mouth, and survived, police said.