Soft Justice, Hard Lesson At Target

Red shopping cart in front of Target store

A repeat offender walked into a California Target and nearly choked a stranger to death just two days after the system turned him loose.

Story Snapshot

Cellphone video shows a man randomly choking a woman at a Simi Valley Target checkout line as shoppers scream and flee.^[2]
The suspect, 34-year-old Rejean Tabor, had reportedly been arrested multiple times in two years and was released from custody just days before.^[1]^[3]
Several customers, including a teenage boy, were hurt while fighting to pull him off the victim and protect other shoppers.^[2]
The store was evacuated in chaos, raising hard questions about repeat offenders, soft justice, and the right to self-defense in blue California.^[1]

Violent Attack Inside A Target Shocks A Suburban Community

Wednesday evening in Simi Valley, California, normal checkout lines turned into a horror scene when a 34-year-old man, later identified as Rejean Tabor, walked into a Target and went straight for a woman he did not know.^[2] Police say he randomly picked her and started choking her in the checkout area as shoppers watched in terror.^[2] Cellphone video shows the woman being grabbed around the neck while people scream and rush to escape the danger.^[2]

Witness video captures a female shopper jumping on the attacker’s back, trying to free the victim as he continues choking her.^[1] The woman on his back yells that she does not even know the man, showing how sudden and random the attack was.^[2] At least two women are seen pushed aside as they step in, and two men then join the struggle to pull him off the victim.^[1] The scene looks less like a safe store and more like a street fight.

Good Samaritans Step In While System Failures Come To Light

Local father Andy Garbe says he and his teenage son sprinted over when they saw the attacker’s hands around the woman’s neck and another woman hanging on his back.^[2] His 15-year-old son filmed while also trying to protect his younger sister during the chaos.^[2] Garbe and other men forced the suspect away from the woman, but the danger was not over. Police say the attacker then moved toward the produce section and targeted a 16-year-old boy with his back turned.^[2]

Garbe followed and says he had to tackle the suspect again to stop him from going after the teenager.^[2] Reports say multiple people suffered minor injuries while stepping in to fight the attacker and protect strangers.^[2] The first victim was taken to the hospital and kept overnight, and friends say she was almost choked to death before help arrived.^[1]^[2] She is now recovering, but many are asking why regular shoppers had to risk their lives in the first place.^[2]

Repeat Arrests, Quick Release, And A Community Left Exposed

Documents and reports show that Tabor has been arrested at least six times in the past two years, including for indecent exposure and assaulting a police officer.^[1] CBS Los Angeles reports police said he had been released from custody only two days before the Target attack, after an earlier arrest from March.^[2]^[3] In other words, a known repeat offender with a record of violence was back on the street, and within forty-eight hours a random woman in a checkout line was nearly strangled.^[2]^[3]

Cellphone video taken Wednesday evening at a Target store in Simi Valley Los Angeles shows a man randomly attacking a woman while she was shopping, and then the good Samaritans who jumped in to help her and stop the man.

Police ultimately arrived at the store, arresting the… pic.twitter.com/ye3MOHw3K6

— Mike Netter (@nettermike) June 19, 2026

Target employees reportedly tried to evacuate the store as the fight spread, and families rushed their children out while not knowing if the attacker had a weapon.^[1] Police arrived and arrested Tabor on serious charges, including attempted murder and multiple counts of assault.^[4] But for many viewers of the video, the biggest shock is not only the attack itself, but the pattern behind it: soft-on-crime policies, quick releases, and a justice system that seems to protect offenders more than law-abiding families.^[1]^[2]

Public Safety, Self-Defense, And The Cost Of Soft-On-Crime Policies

This attack fits a growing pattern across the country where viral videos capture sudden violence in stores, on trains, and on sidewalks, while ordinary people are left to step in before police can arrive.^[2] In states like California, where political leaders talk tough on “reform” but go easy on repeat offenders, many citizens feel less safe every year. They know that when a man with a long arrest history walks free again and again, it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.^[1]^[2]

Reports show this suspect’s long record and his release just days before the attack, yet probation officials and local justice leaders have offered no clear answers.^[1]^[2] For families who shop at places like Target, the message is simple and chilling: the system may not protect you, so your safety rests on your own awareness, the courage of nearby Good Samaritans, and whether leaders will finally put victims and the rule of law ahead of repeat offenders and activist “reforms.”^[1]^[2]