A 17-year-old 'Sesame Street' theme-park employee had to undergo jaw surgery after a visitor punched him over a face-mask requirement, police say
- The police in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, said that a teenage worker at Sesame Place, a "Sesame Street"-themed amusement park, was punched in the face on Sunday after asking a visitor to follow the park's face-mask rule.
- The police told The Philadelphia Inquirer that earlier in the day, the worker reminded the visitor to wear a face mask. The man punched the worker when he saw him later, the police said.
- The teen suffered a damaged tooth and had to undergo jaw surgery, the Inquirer and WPVI reported.
- The police said that they were looking for the man and a woman who was with him and that they fled in a car with New York license plates.
A 17-year-old worker at the Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, had to undergo surgery after a man he had told to wear a face mask punched him in the face, the police told The Philadelphia Inquirer and WPVI.
The incident happened at the "Sesame Street"-themed amusement park on Sunday evening, Detective Lt. Steve Forman of the Middletown Township Police Department told The Inquirer.
Forman told the newspaper that earlier in the day, the worker reminded the man and a woman who was with him, described as being between the ages of 20 and 30, to wear face masks. The park requires visitors to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Later, when the worker came across the couple again, the man punched the teen in the face, Forman told the newspaper.
Security guards chased the couple out of the park, and they fled in a car with New York license plates before the police arrived, Forman told The Inquirer.
WPVI reported that the Middletown Township Police Department was working with the New York Police Department to find the couple.
The worker suffered a damaged tooth and underwent surgery to repair his jaw, The Inquirer and WPVI reported.
Sesame Place said in a statement to WPVI and The Inquirer that the "health and safety of our guests and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind is unacceptable and not tolerated at our park."
"We are cooperating with local law enforcement on this ongoing investigation. Any further questions should be directed to them," the park added.