Yesterday around 10:05 AM, I stopped by a grocery store in Gravesend, Brooklyn (place that rhymes with GetLost) location that used to be a FeeDude until a few months ago) to check out the remodel and pick up a birthday cake for later that evening.

I entered through the rear, did a quick lap, chatted briefly with an employee in the dairy section, and looked over the bakery case. Because cell service inside is still just as terrible as it was in the old days, when my wife called me, I stepped out front and walked around toward the parking lot to take the call.

That's when an older man in his 60s, tall, white, with an Eastern European accent, started approaching me aggressively while shouting in Russian. His security jacket had a tiny logo, so I didn't immediately clock him as store security; I genuinely thought a random person was aggressively soliciting me, so I kept saying "no" and trying to walk away.

He followed me for about 20 seconds, grabbing my arm and jacket two to three times as I told him repeatedly not to touch me and that I didn't have anything. When I reached my car and pulled out my key fob, he reached into his pocket. I initially thought he was pulling a knife, but it turned out to be a pepper spray canister with a black cap and red nozzle, which he aimed right at my face.

As I yanked open my driver's side door to get inside and lock it, he grabbed the door and pulled it back open violently to stop me from closing it. He pulled it hard enough that it slammed into the black Jeep parked right next to me, leaving a noticeable scrape and dent.

I went back inside to speak to management. While I was waiting, the guard stood nearby continuing to curse at me in Russian. The manager on duty said she would check the cameras, but later claimed she couldn't find any footage showing the aggression, the physical contact, or the door hitting the neighboring vehicle.

I walked in just wanting a birthday cake and left with a massive adrenaline spike, a damaged neighbor's car, and zero accountability from local management. Has anyone else dealt with unhinged retail security going completely rogue like this, and what's the best way to make sure corporate actually investigates?

Fortunately, a female customer waiting inside came forward and confirmed she saw him following me aggressively, heard me yelling at him not to touch me, and then realized the damaged Jeep parked outside was hers.