Toilet paper frenzy results in a shopper being TASERED during an argument over loo roll at a Big W store
- The 50-year-old man was tasered at a Big W store in Tamworth, New South Wales
- He was arrested and is currently being questioned by police officers
- Police were called after reports a staff member and a customer were assaulted
- It's believed it started over toilet paper, which shoppers have been stockpiling
A man has been tasered by police during an argument over toilet paper at a Big W store.
The 50-year-old shopper was tasered at the department store in Tamworth, in northeast New South Wales, on Thursday morning.
Police were called to the shopping complex after reports a staff member and a customer were assaulted by a man.
He was arrested and is currently being questioned by police officers after the alleged assault.
It's believed the argument was sparked over toilet paper, which shoppers across the country have been stockpiling amid coronavirus-prompted panic.
The 50-year-old shopper was tasered at a Big W department store in Tamworth (pictured), in northeast New South Wales, on Thursday, after an argument broke out about toilet paper
'Police have been told a 50-year-old man began to argue with a staff members and another customer before he assaulted them at a department store in Bridge Street,' a NSW Police spokesperson said.
'Officers attended and during the man's arrest, he was tasered.
'He was then taken to Tamworth police station where he is assisting police with their inquiries.'
So far no charges have been laid.
It comes a day after a woman was involved in an alleged knife incident over toilet paper at a Woolworths in Paramatta, in Sydney's west.
The altercation happened in the toilet paper aisle of the supermarket on Wednesday, in front of shocked shoppers already in a frenzy.
It comes a day after a woman was involved in an alleged knife incident over toilet paper at a Woolworths in Paramatta, in Sydney's west. Pictured: officers speak to shoppers after incident
Staff members inside the store said there was a dispute between a man and a woman as toilet paper was unloaded onto shelves about 1pm, and one of the people pulled out a knife.
But NSW Police said on Thursday the 'disturbance' between the pair was due to the woman's inability to talk or hear, as she is both deaf and mute.
At least six police officers were called to the scene, where they talked to the woman for more than an hour inside the Woolworths tea room.
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A NSW Police spokesman said charges are not expected to be laid.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians to stay calm despite the spread of COVID-19 and consulted with Woolworths and Coles about the virus' impact on supply chains and consumer behaviour.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday said there were no issues with toilet paper supply in NSW and urged the public to refrain from bulk-buying.
'People should just go about their daily business in terms of the products they purchase and I don't see a need to do that (bulk buy) at this stage,' she said.
Coles will limit the amount of toilet paper people can buy after national supermarket shelves were stripped in recent days.
The supermarket announced on Thursday it would implement a temporary restriction of four packs of toilet roll for each purchase.
This picture, shared on Facebook, shows Aussie shoppers panic buying toilet rolls amid fears supermarkets could soon run out
'To ensure all of our customers have access to toilet paper, a temporary purchase limit of four packs per customer transaction will now apply in-store and online,' a Coles spokeswoman said in a statement on Thursday.
'This will help us maintain stock levels in stores while our suppliers increase local production and our distribution centres increase deliveries.'
Coles follows the lead of Woolworths who established a four-pack toilet paper limit - both in-store and online - on Wednesday, saying the measure would shore up stock levels in the face of 'higher than usual demand'.
So far two people have died out of 56 cases of the virus in Australia.
There are now more than 92,000 cases worldwide in 78 countries including Ukraine and Morocco. Some 3100 people have died.
Coles will limit the amount of toilet paper people can buy after national supermarket shelves were stripped in recent days due to coronavirus panic
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