Schnuck's Needs To Work on that "Friendliness" Thing...

[gblowfish]

St. Louis grocery chain Schnuck's has always called themselves "The Friendliest Store in Town." Yeah, might need some help with that out in the parking lot....

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

Police: Man intentionally hit customers at Creve Coeur Schnucks

BY VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN • vhahn@post-dispatch.com Posted: Monday, April 25, 2011

CREVE COEUR • A St. Louis County man faces assault charges after police said he used his car to hit two customers in the parking lot of a Schnucks supermarket in Creve Coeur, and told police he hoped to kill someone.

Josef X. Achtentuch, 61, of the 900 block of Fernway Lane, which is about a mile from the store at 12756 Olive Boulevard, was charged with first-degree and third-degree assault in the incident, which happened about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, a busy time for the store with customers buying groceries for the Easter holiday.

Creve Coeur police said Achtentuch struck a cart that was being pushed by a woman, 47, as she was leaving the store, hurting her arm as the cart pulled away from her.

Achtentuch then drove his car and hit a man, 80, knocking him to the ground, police said. Achtentuch told police that he could see the man was not dead, so he retrieved a brick from his car and threw it at him, hoping to hit the man in the head. He hit the man in the midsection, chest, and thumb instead, police said.

The woman refused treatment at the scene and the man was taken to the hospital, treated and released. Their injuries were not serious, police said.

The man ran his car into a light pole and a store manager would not let him leave until police arrived.

Achtentuch told police he put the bricks in his car to use them to attack someone, and he wanted to kill someone in the hope that he would be sent to jail and would not have to return home, according to court documents.

"He said he went to the parking lot of the Schnucks store and tried to run over anyone that he saw," a police officer wrote in court documents.

Creve Coeur Capt. George Hodak said that the man had been despondent and was being held at a hospital for observation.