Walmart security guard enforcing Covid rules, was run over in parking lot dies
Sherbrooke, Quebec Canada Aug 22 2020
Philippe Jean, a security guard hit by a car in the parking lot of a Walmart in Sherbrooke, Que., last April, has died after spending several months in an induced coma.
His brother, Guillaume Jean, confirmed the death to Radio-Canada. He declined to be interviewed.
In a Facebook post, Guillaume Jean wrote that his brother “fought like a true warrior until his last breath. A true fighter. He left tonight like a shooting star that shines now in heaven. Phil, watch over us and your children.”
The incident happened only a few days after Jean, a father of five, was hired as a security guard to enforce physical distancing measures in front of the Walmart.
Nacime Kouddar, the 25-year-old suspect in the case, was charged with aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon causing bodily harm.
Kouddar allegedly got into an altercation with Jean after being told he could not enter the store with his partner because the store was letting in only one person per vehicle.
He is alleged to have grown frustrated and later returned to the store, running Jean over just moments before he finished his shift.
“My brother has five kids at home, and they don’t know if their father will ever come back. That’s not normal,” Guillaume Jean said at the time. “In a moment of madness, a father might lose his life, just because someone couldn’t enter the store with his girlfriend?”
Kouddar’s lawyer has said security video from the scene paints the encounter in a different light. However, she hasn’t provided details and the video has not been released.
It’s not clear if Kouddar will face new charges now that Jean has died.
