North Texas

Some Uneasy After Man Attacked In Target Parking Lot

Some Dallas residents said they're uneasy after a 33-year-old man was attacked in the parking lot of a Target store Saturday night.

Dallas police are searching for two men accused in the attack of North Texas theater director Derek Whitener, who was beaten with a large wooden dowel outside the Target on North Haskell Avenue near the Uptown area.

Police said surveillance video showed the two suspects walking around vehicles in the parking lot, lifting door handles prior to the attack.

“I don’t know if they were looking for property, looking for a victim or a crime of opportunity,” Dep. Chief Thomas Castro said.

Castro said the men spotted Whitener going into the store and started following him. He said Whitener reported the men to Target employees and security personnel spoke with the two suspects. As Whitener was walking to his car, police said the men made a threat and beat him with the wooden dowel, fracturing his skull.

Grace Jeffrey said she didn’t feel comfortable shopping alone in that parking lot even before the attack.

“[The attack] just seems to fit the area," she said. "I wouldn't like to come here at night by myself, so I like to come first thing in the morning."

NBC 5 met Sarah Beth Wilste in January 2015. She was a recent victim of crime in that same parking lot.

“When you are five minutes from home, you don't think you're going to get mugged in the parking lot," she said.

Wilste said she was leaving Target while holding her young son when someone crept up behind her and cut her purse strap.

"He cut it in the back and yanked it away. I just felt it yanking off of my shoulder,” she explained.

Some now wonder if this is becoming a high-crime area.

"Not anything out of the ordinary sticks out at this particular location,” Castro said. “They have an off-duty officer. They've had an off-duty officer there since I can remember. They have security personnel."

Target released the following statement:

At Target, the safety and security of our guests and team members is a top priority. Our thoughts are with the victim and anyone affected by this incident.

As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we partnered with local law enforcement.

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