Released Again, Then Attack at Target

A repeat offender walked into a California Target and nearly choked a stranger to death just two days after getting out of jail.

Story Snapshot

Cellphone video shows a man randomly choking a woman in a Simi Valley Target checkout line as shoppers scream and flee.
Police say 34‑year‑old Rejean Tabor had been arrested several times in recent years and was released from custody only two days before the attack.
Good Samaritans, including a father and teen, rushed in and were hurt while stopping the assault, as Target staff evacuated the store.
The case highlights how soft-on-crime policies and repeat releases leave everyday families exposed while media focuses on “random” violence, not system failure.

Violent Attack In A Place Families Trust

On June 17, around 6 p.m., shoppers at the Target on Tierra Rejada Road in Simi Valley thought they were just grabbing groceries and household items for the evening.^[3] Police say 34-year-old local resident Rejean Tabor walked into the store, went straight to a checkout lane, and suddenly grabbed a woman he did not know around the neck.^[1] Cellphone video shows him choking her as others shout, while one woman jumps on his back to try to pull him off.^[1]

Witnesses told reporters the victim’s face went limp and she looked “nearly lifeless” as the attacker kept squeezing.^[1] A father in the store, Andy Garbe, rushed over with his 15-year-old son after seeing the struggle near the front of the store.^[1] His son began filming while helping protect his younger sister from the chaos.^[1] Other shoppers started screaming, and Target staff launched an emergency evacuation as the scene turned from quiet shopping trip to full panic.^[2]^[3]

Heroes Step In As System Failures Show

After one brave woman tried to pull the attacker off and was thrown aside, two men stepped in and fought to drag him away from the victim.^[1] Police and witnesses say that once pulled off, Tabor moved deeper into the store, toward the grocery and produce area, where he then went after a 16-year-old boy who had his back turned.^[1]^[2] Bystanders tackled him again between the aisles as he struggled, tossed items, and resisted, leaving several interveners with minor injuries.^[1]^[2]^[6]

Family friends drove the choking victim to the hospital, where she was kept overnight for observation and later reported to be recovering, underscoring how close this came to becoming a murder.^[1]^[2] According to a local news podcast, most other injuries were minor, but police treated the case as extremely serious and urged more witnesses to come forward.^[2] Officers arrested Tabor inside the store and booked him on attempted murder and other violent charges tied to the assault and injuries.^[1]^[6]

Repeat Arrests, Quick Release, And Public Risk

Cellphone footage shared on social media and local reports say documents show Tabor has been arrested at least six times in the last two years.^[13] According to CBS Los Angeles, officials confirmed he had been released from custody only two days earlier after a March arrest involving indecent exposure and assaulting a police officer.^[1] That timeline means a man with a long record and a fresh history of attacking law enforcement was back on the street almost immediately before this Target assault.

A man is in custody following a violent and random attack inside a Target store in Simi Valley that was caught on video.

Officers responded after a caller reported that a man had entered the store and immediately began choking a woman at a checkout counter.… pic.twitter.com/2eTEMeroGp

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 19, 2026

Local coverage focuses on the “random” nature of the attack, but the pattern looks less random and more like the logical outcome of a justice system that keeps turning repeat offenders loose.^[1]^[2]^[6] Police, media, and online clips all agree on the basics: a stranger at checkout, a sudden chokehold, and a store full of families forced to flee.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5] What has not been answered is why a man with repeated arrests and clear warning signs was free to walk into a big-box store and nearly kill a woman in front of children.

Public Safety Under Progressive Justice

For many families who watched this story, the message is simple and chilling: if this can happen in a Simi Valley Target, it can happen anywhere. Video may settle what happened in those awful minutes, but it does not fix a legal system that treats public safety as an afterthought.^[1]^[2] Probation and jail officials have not publicly explained why Tabor was released so quickly or what monitoring, if any, was in place when he walked into that store.^[1]

Shoppers and parents are left to connect the dots themselves. When repeat offenders cycle through jail doors again and again, ordinary people become the front line, forced to rely on their own courage and the courage of strangers in the aisle next to them. In this case, a father, his teen son, and other Good Samaritans stepped up and likely saved a woman’s life.^[1]^[5] Their bravery deserves praise, but no one should need to risk their life to buy groceries in peace.