Police are searching for a man who they say was caught on surveillance video punching a teenager with special needs at a Bucks County Walmart over the weekend.
Ramsey Martinez, 16, was with his family inside the Walmart on 195 North West End Boulevard in Quakertown on Saturday around noon. Martinez, who has special needs and limited speech, regularly goes grocery shopping at the Walmart with his family.
Surveillance video from inside the store shows a man punching Martinez in the face and walking away, police said. Martinez’s mother, Margarita Del Rosario, was picking vegetables at the time and had her back turned.
“She turned around and asked, ‘Could you be more careful?’ And the guy answered her, ‘Oh, he was in my way,’” Netfaly Martinez, Ramsey’s sister, told NBC10.
Martinez’s family noticed he had a bloody lip. Family members told NBC10 Ramsey has epilepsy and they were concerned he would suffer a seizure.
“He didn’t know how to react,” Netfaly Martinez said. “What if they hit him in the head? He would have been taken to the hospital. What if he had a seizure?”
In addition to surveillance video inside the store, the suspect was also captured on surveillance leaving the store. Police say he drove away in a white SUV.
Family members said they had never seen the man before and are confused as to why he punched Ramsey.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
“They need to understand and respect other people,” Rosario said. “Special or not special.”
If you have any information on the suspect’s identity, call Officer Michael Colahan at 215-536-9500.
