BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A Boynton Beach Publix parking lot brawl erupted Thursday after an alleged scam dispute, with a teen girl caught in the chaos.
According to officers with the Boynton Beach Police Department, a man recognized 31-year-old Collin Scott of Hollywood in the parking lot from a previous marketplace transaction where he claimed he was scammed.
When the teen attempted to warn an elderly man who was buying speakers from Scott, words reportedly quickly escalated into violence.
See also: Florida man arrested after deputies find him passed out at pump with child, guns in car
The situation turned physical when Scott approached the vehicle, said he would “beat the f*** out of” the victim before throwing a punch through a window, according to the criminal probable cause affidavit.
The man then exited his vehicle and began physically fighting Scott. A 16-year-old girl tried to intervene to defend the victim and was allegedly punched in the face, a claim later supported by surveillance video.
Though Scott claimed to officers that he was merely defending himself after being blindsided, the store’s CCTV footage told a different story, showing Scott as the initial aggressor.
Scott was treated at Bethesda Hospital for facial bruising and a bleeding mouth before being booked into the Palm Beach County Jail for counts of battery and child abuse without great bodily harm.