KEARNY MARSHALL’S CHAOS: CHECKOUT LINE ARGUMENT EXPLODES INTO STABBING

A dispute over the speed of a checkout line at the Marshall’s on Passaic Avenue in Kearny turned violent Saturday afternoon, leaving one woman hospitalized with multiple stab wounds, according to the Kearny Police Department.

Officers were called to 175 Passaic Avenue after reports of a stabbing in the parking lot. When Sgt. Kelly and Officers Mauricio, Sosa, Cazares, and Sondej arrived, they found a woman covered in blood, suffering from several puncture wounds to her torso. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors said her injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

Police say the confrontation began inside the store when 25-year-old Amber I. Thompson of Newark became upset about how slowly the checkout line was moving. Witnesses told officers that Thompson threatened another shopper, warning she would “see her outside.”

Investigators allege Thompson then purchased a set of kitchen knives, unboxed one, and followed the victim and her family into the parking lot. As the victim approached her car, Thompson allegedly attacked, stabbing her several times before fleeing back into the store.

Officers later found Thompson hiding in a restroom, where a kitchen knife was recovered from a baby-changing station. Witness accounts linked her directly to the assault, and she was taken into custody on the scene.

Thompson faces charges of Aggravated Assault, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Endangering Another Person. She was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility, and the weapon was secured as evidence.

As someone who shops at this Marshall’s nearly every week, I can say the lines can get long—but the staff always keeps things moving. Never once have I seen tensions rise anywhere near this level.

The incident remains under investigation by Kearny detectives.