Woman charged with assault after mask dispute at Staples leaves customer with broken leg

Samantha Kubota
Updated ·1 min read

Police in New Jersey have arrested the woman they said was involved in a mask dispute at a Staples store last week that left a customer with a broken leg.

Terri Thomas, 25, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree aggravated assault, Hackensack police said in a news release.

Thomas was released on a summons pending a first court appearance on Aug. 24. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Margot Kagan, 54, of Teaneck, told police she was using a fax machine at a Staples store in Hackensack last Wednesday, when a woman, identified by police as Thomas, approached a machine next to her with a mask pulled down below her mouth.

Kagan, who, according to police, had a liver transplant four months ago and was walking with a cane, told Thomas to put her mask on, which police said angered Thomas.

Police said Thomas yelled at Kagan and then violently threw her to the ground.

The incident was caught on surveillance video.

Kagan was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured left tibia, police said.