Man Rapes Shopper At Kroger Bathroom, Gets Chased Down By Witnesses

The Chatham County Police Department arrested a man on Tuesday evening after he reportedly sexually assaulted a woman at a Kroger grocery store bathroom in Savannah, Georgia.

The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Gregory Hathorne, is facing felony rape, felony kidnapping, and misdemeanor battery charges. He is being held in the Chatham County Detention Center without bond, the Chatham County Police Department said in a report.

Hathorne allegedly forced himself on an adult woman after following her into the lady’s bathroom of a Kroger store in Berwick, east Georgia. The police report said shoppers in the vicinity heard the victim’s screams for help and immediately responded, also alerting the store.

A group of civilians chased after Hathorne as he attempted to flee, but he was eventually pinned down and restrained in the shopping plaza until the authorities arrived. Law enforcement was notified and reached the scene around 6:30 p.m.

According to the victim’s own account, she had proceeded to the Kroger restroom when the stranger Hathorne barged into the lavatory and sexually assaulted her, WTOC11 said. The victim was escorted to a nearby hospital for treatment and is receiving services from the county’s Rape Crisis Center.

In a brief statement, Kroger corporation thanked the Chatham County Police Department for their speedy response and vowed to aid in the ongoing investigation.

The authorities’ initial investigation has concluded that Hathorne is not a Savannah local with very limited history in the area. The department is still investigating the suspect's background and checking if he’s already had run-ins with law enforcement in the past.

Chatham County Police Department Chief Jeff Hadley assured the community that this is an isolated incident as Berwick is a generally safe area, during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Hadley also thanked the civilians who decisively aided in the arrest, lauding their bravery despite the potentially dangerous circumstances.

"We’re very thankful for those citizens — it was very brave of them to do that. Oftentimes we see a lot of people standing around with a phone and film something, but they won’t intervene," Hadley said.

The Chatham County Police Department has started reviewing security footage from the store during the night of the incident for further investigation.