A repeat offender released from jail just two days earlier walked into a California Target and nearly choked a stranger to death in front of families doing their evening shopping.[1][4]
Story Snapshot
- A 34-year-old man with a long arrest record randomly choked a woman at a Simi Valley Target checkout.[1][4]
- He had reportedly been released from custody just two days before, despite prior arrests including assault on an officer.[3]
- Several shoppers, including teenagers, rushed in to stop the attack and suffered minor injuries.[1][4]
- Target staff evacuated the store as the suspect raged through aisles before police arrested him on attempted murder charges.[1][4]
Violent Attack Turns Ordinary Shopping Trip Into Chaos
On the evening of June 17, shoppers at the Target on Tierra Rejada Road in Simi Valley watched a normal trip turn into a nightmare.[1][4] Police say 34-year-old local resident Rejean Tabor walked into the store around 6 p.m. and went straight for a woman standing in the checkout line.[1][2] Witnesses and police reports say he grabbed her from behind and began choking her without warning, even though she had never met him before.[1][4]
Cellphone video recorded by a teenage shopper shows the woman being held in a chokehold as other customers scream and rush to help.[1][3] A female Good Samaritan jumped on the attacker’s back, trying to pull his arms from the victim’s neck, but he threw her off and kept squeezing.[1][3] One woman can be heard shouting, “He was choking her, she was almost dead, I don’t know that guy!” as panic spreads through the checkout area.[1][3]
Heroes Step In As Families Scramble For Safety
As the attack continued, several bystanders decided they could not stand by and watch.[1][4] Witness Andy Garbe says he and others sprinted toward the struggle when they saw the woman turning limp while another woman clung to the attacker’s back.[1] Garbe’s 15-year-old son began filming while also trying to shield his younger sister from the chaos unfolding only a few feet away.[1][7] Police later said multiple people were hurt while trying to protect the victim, including at least one minor boy.[1][4]
Witness accounts say that after good Samaritans pulled Tabor off the first victim, he moved toward the grocery and produce area and targeted a 16-year-old boy who had his back turned.[1][4] Garbe followed and wrestled with the attacker again, finally helping subdue him until officers arrived.[1] Target employees quickly started an emergency evacuation, guiding families and children out of the store while the man reportedly threw items in the aisles.[2][4] The scene captured on video shows shoppers running, shouting, and trying to make sense of the sudden violence.[3]
Victim Hospitalized As Police Reveal Suspect’s Troubling Record
The woman choked at checkout was taken to a nearby hospital by family friends and kept overnight for observation.[1][4] Officials said she was in stable condition and recovering but stressed how serious the attack was.[1] One witness told reporters that officers and medical staff said she could have died if bystanders had not stepped in when they did.[1] Others suffered minor injuries, including scratches and bruises, after the struggle with the suspect inside the store.[1][4]
A man is in custody following a violent and random attack inside a Target store in Simi Valley that was caught on video.
Officers responded after a caller reported that a man had entered the store and immediately began choking a woman at a checkout counter.… pic.twitter.com/2eTEMeroGp
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 19, 2026
After officers reached the scene, they found Tabor still inside the building and arrested him without further incident.[2][4] Police and jail records show he was booked on several serious charges, including attempted murder, burglary, assault, battery, and causing unnecessary suffering to a minor.[4] Local reporting and social media posts state that Tabor had been arrested multiple times over the last two years and had just been released from custody two days earlier, including on a past case involving indecent exposure and assaulting a police officer.[3][13]
Repeat Offender Release Raises Alarms About Public Safety
For many residents, the most disturbing part is not only the brutality of the attack but the fact that a man with a long arrest record was back on the street so quickly.[3][4] Police said Tabor had been in custody as recently as March and that his release came only two days before the Target assault.[3] Online records and reports indicate at least six prior arrests in two years, highlighting ongoing concerns about revolving-door justice and weak consequences for repeat offenders.[13]
Shoppers who watched the choking say the attack appeared totally random, and investigators confirm there is no known link between the suspect and the victim.[1][4] Yet probation and jail officials have not publicly explained how someone with that history ended up free in a busy store with families, children, and unarmed workers in his path. That silence, combined with the shocking video, leaves many law-abiding citizens wondering how many other repeat offenders are walking into their local stores right now.[4]
Sources:
[1] Web – Repeat Offender Released From Jail Just Two Days Earlier Randomly …
[2] Web – Video shows Simi Valley Target store attack, suspect arrested
[3] Web – Any witnesses to this attack inside a Target? – Reddit
[4] Web – Cellphone video taken Wednesday evening at a Target store in Simi …
[7] Web – Target Violence Sparks Panic – Apple Podcasts
[13] Web – Cellphone video taken Wednesday evening at a Target store in Simi …
Save taxpayers a bundle. Execute this slug.
The best way to stop this type of attack is to hit the attacker in the back of the head with a solid object like a wooden stick or a heavy can.
Violent people should kept in mental hospitals, not sent for vacations in jail.