Guard fired after nabbing child who ate from box

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A TV station says a grocery store security guard has been fired after he told the father of a 4 year-old girl that she would face criminal charges for eating from a dried fruit package.

KOMO reported Wednesday that the child’s mother Alissa Jones said the father wasn’t looking when the girl grabbed the package, ate a few pieces of fruit then returned it to a shelf at a Safeway store in Everett, Wash.

Jones says a guard took the child and her dad to a room and said the girl would face charges and be banned from the chain.

Jones also says the guard had the girl sign a paper acknowledging she wasn’t allowed to enter any Safeway stores.

Safeway spokesperson Cherie Myers says the company was appalled by the guard’s actions and dismissed him. Store officials have apologized to the girl’s parents.

The name of the guard was not immediately available

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Information from: KOMO-AM, http://www.komoradio.com/