Man dressed as Santa is sprayed with pepper spray and wrestled to the ground by officers during Bunning’s Christmas days out
Incident at Frankston Bunnings on Thursday with fake Santa
Reports of a man in his 60s threatening staff and other shoppers at the store
He refused to leave and then resisted police, who then sprayed the man with pepper spray
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A man dressed as Santa Claus had to be taken to hospital with pepper spray after a freak incident in Bunnings.
Police responded at 1pm on Thursday to reports of a man behaving erratically at a hardware store in Frankston, a south Melbourne suburb.
He was asked to leave by staff but refused and when officers intervened he became aggressive.
A man dressed as Santa has been sprayed with pepper spray and taken to hospital following an incident in Bunnings
The fake Santa attacked police, who were forced to spray him with pepper spray and wrestle him to the ground outside the store.
“Officers were forced to escort the man out of the premises, but he resisted and assaulted the officers,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
The man collapsed and was treated by paramedics, who decided to take him to hospital.
The man fell unconscious and was taken to hospital for treatment, police said.
Ambulance Victoria confirmed that a man was taken to Frankston Hospital at 1:40pm on Thursday following a medical emergency.
Bunnings said in a statement that Frankston staff had handled the situation in a “professional manner.”
The fake Santa was asked to leave by Bunnings staff, but refused when officers intervened and became aggressive
After the fake Santa was sprayed with pepper spray, he was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital
The store also confirmed that the fake Santa was not one of their employees.
Shoppers posted on social media what they saw during the incident.
A woman said the man, “in his 60s,” had “threatened” staff and other shoppers.
A customer posted a photo of the man being treated by paramedics outside the store with the caption “Santa will be arrested today at Frankston Bunnings.”