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Store employee assaulted in Southeast Austin
The woman said a warrant has been issued for his arrest, but she’s unsure when he’ll actually be arrested.
AUSTIN, Texas - A man who assaulted a store employee in Southeast Austin was arrested by Austin police.
Ryan Wood, 37, has been arrested for assault causing bodily injury. He’s being held in the Travis County Jail on a $4,000 bond.
Video showed a man walking into a vape shop on East Oltorf last month.
"He turned and looked at me and I saw that he had a swastika tattooed right in the middle of his forehead and he had the Nazi SS lightning on one cheek," store employee Leslie Lowdermilk said.
She said she talked with her coworker about whether they should serve him.
"We decided no, we do not support white supremacy, so we’re not going to serve this individual," Lowdermilk said.
She said she called 911, but was put on hold. During that time, the man pushed over a metal stand, then picked it up and threw it at Lowdermilk. She said she hung up with 911.
"I can’t pay attention to 911 and this loon as well," Lowdermilk said.
The man is then seen on video walking towards the door, but turns around and shoves Lowdermilk to the ground.
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VIDEO: Man assaults store employee
A store employee in Southeast Austin is asking for help identifying a man who assaulted her.
"I went down between our front window and one of our glass display cases and that’s really scary because had I landed on that glass display case, I would have been in a world of hurt," Lowdermilk said.
He leaves and Lowdermilk said a dispatcher called back.
"I’m like well, it’s kind of over now," Lowdermilk said.
She said police showed up to the store about three-and-a-half hours later. Lowdermilk said a warrant has been issued for his arrest, but she’s unsure when he’ll actually be arrested.
"If he has another contact with police, he’ll be arrested, but no telling when that will happen," Lowdermilk said.
She is asking for the communities’ help to find him.
"The guy is violent, and I could have been hurt, my coworker could have been hurt, and I don’t want anybody else getting hurt," Lowdermilk said.
If you have any information to help with this investigation, call the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000.