Mother at the centre of a fiery argument over baby formula tins at a Big W store reveals the scuffle erupted when she asked a masked shopper to stop holding up anxious parents
- Stephanie Groen, 29, went to Big W to buy shoes for her three-year-old daughter
- The trip nearly turned violent after a couple tried to buy four tins of baby formula
- The mum-of-two soon came face-to-face with a man she described as 'crazy'
- Big W and other big brands enforce a two-tin formula limit due to its popularity
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- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
A mother at the centre of a fiery argument over baby formula in a Big W store has revealed what sparked the scuffle.
Stephanie Groen, 29, was buying shoes for her three-year-old daughter at the department store in Lilydale, north-east Melbourne, when she heard a commotion.
The mum-of-two told Daily Mail Australia a couple wearing face masks standing in front of her at the self-service check-out were trying to buy four tins of baby formula.
Big W and major Australian supermarkets have a two-tin baby formula limit to stop 'daigou' shoppers buying the product in bulk to sell for a profit online to China.
A couple wearing face masks and carrying two tins of formula each were seen lining up at the checkout in footage shared on Saturday
Stephanie Groen, 29, lives east of Melbourne with her partner Jess and children, age three and six. She pushed her trolley in between two shoppers at Big W to stop a punch-up
A staff member stopped the couple because they were over the limit with four tins, and had been seen in the same store with more of the same product earlier that day.
When questioned, the man got aggressive and started arguing with the staff member, Ms Groen said.
He refused to put the products back, holding up queues of anxious families wanting to get home.
Ms Groen grew frustrated and afraid that the busy store could be a breeding ground for COVID-19.
'I told him to put the tins back, but I only said something because I was standing there with my trolley and I couldn't get past - he was holding everyone up,' she said..
'As soon as I did, he turned to me and asked, "what's it got to do with you?".
'And when I looked at him...he had crazy in his eyes.'
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The incident quickly escalated when the two men stepped towards each other, only separated by Ms Groen's shopper's trolley
The man then started yelling and swearing at her until an older man intervened.
He told them to put the products back and claimed to have seen the pair in a local chemist buying baby formula earlier that day.
The situation turned hostile when the man clutching the tins looked at the older man and said: 'I'll take you outside, buster.'
Though Ms Groen was trying not to touch anything or anyone - fearing she could catch the deadly virus and pass it on to her children - she said she acted on instinct when she pushed her trolley between the two men to stop a punch-up.
'You could tell that he really going to lose it,' she said about the man holding the formula.
'It was scary - he went full aggressive.'
Concerned shoppers began to scream 'no', in a desperate attempt to separate the pair.
A security guard walked the man and woman from the store. A Big W staff member said: 'You're not allowed to buy the formula and that's it'
The two men were not fazed by social distancing rules and found themselves face-to-face during the blowout.
'Put it back,' the man said again before his opponent screamed 'no!'
The baby formula shopper threw the tins into a trolley, ripped his face mask off and lunged towards the man before other witnesses interjected.
A security guard then walked the man and woman from the store.
A Big W staff member said: 'You're not allowed to buy the formula and that's it.'
Ms Groen said ten security guards approached the check-out and escorted the pair out of the store.
Ms Groen (pictured with her partner, Jess) said she isn't afraid to go back to the store and risk seeing the pair again
'I probably shouldn't have gotten myself involved,' she admitted, but added that no one else in the queue was saying anything and, as it happened in front of her, felt compelled to stop the situation before someone got hurt.
'If I hadn't done anything the situation definitely would have turned violent.'
'He went full crazy over formula.'
Though shaken after the incident, Ms Groen said she isn't afraid to go back to the store and risk seeing the pair again.
'I'm a big Dutch woman and I feel like I can defend myself,' she laughed.
'I'm just sick of seeing all the baby formula disappear leaving none for people who need it.'
