Easter Bunny Attacks Shoppers In Mall Brawl [Video]
Your image of a peaceful, fun-loving Easter Bunny may be tarnished this week thanks to a 22-year-old man in a rabbit costume who was provoked into starting a violent fist fight in a New Jersey mall.
According to the Huffington Post, the incident was recorded at Jersey City’s Newport Mall at around 5 p.m. on Sunday by a nearby shopper. The video, which can be seen at the top of the page, was then uploaded to the web, where it quickly went viral. It shows a man dressed as the Easter Bunny at a mall photo set engaging in an emotionally-charged brawl with several mall shoppers while security personnel does their best to break it up.
The brawl reportedly began when the father of a 1-year-old girl verbally and physically attacked the man in the Easter Bunny costume, according to the Jersey City police. The infant girl had just snapped a photo with the Easter Bunny when she apparently slipped out of the chair. This accident angered the father to the point of attacking the Easter Bunny, who promptly fought back full force.
The man was separated from the Easter Bunny, who then seemed to give up on the fight and storm off. But then the man in the Easter Bunny costume returned, stripping off his big white gloves before throwing more punches.
The footage was first uploaded to Twitter by a user named Kevin Pineda. Since the post went live, it has been shared nearly two thousand times and amassed nearly as many likes.
Warning: This video contains some strong language.
Easter bunny throwin the hands @ Newport Lmfaoo pt1 pic.twitter.com/Y7goiuf4Ap
— Kev (@2jrb123) March 20, 2016
The video then circulated to YouTube and other video sharing sites.
The person shooting the video can be heard narrating the fight in disbelief.
“Oh! That’s the Easter Bunny! Oh, the Easter Bunny throwin’ hands! Oh, he curb stomped him!… The Easter Bunny got in a fight.”
Charges have not been filed as a result of the Easter Bunny brawl, but both men had to be treated at Jersey City Medical Center for injuries. The names of the men involved have not been released by the Jersey City police.
While initial reports suggest the father of the 1-year-old started the fight, police are still investigating the incident and speaking with witnesses. The video does not show how the fight began. And, fortunately for any children who may see the clip, the rabbit head of the costume was not on at the time the fight broke out.
Many who saw the video did their best to leave funny comments addressing the fact that the fight involved an iconic holiday character like the Easter Bunny.
“He was obviously HOPPING MAD!” said one commenter.
“Animal Abuse,” wrote another.
“Bunny Lives Matter,” said a third.
Usually, it’s the children who have an issue with the Easter Bunny at these mall events, not the parents.
What do you think is happening in the Easter Bunny brawl video? Did the man in the costume start the fight, or was it really retaliation to an initial attack that the video doesn’t show?
This isn’t the first time a massive brawl has broken out in a mall around a holiday. Last year, fights broke out in a Kentucky mall as a result of Black Friday mania. Read more here.
For another strange story involving the holiday rabbit, read about the man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his self-represented closing statement invoked the Easter Bunny for his defense.
[Photos by Joe Raedle/Getty Images and Kevin Pineda/Twitter]
