A Henderson woman shopping with her 13-year-old daughter says she felt something wet hit her lower back inside a Smith's Marketplace on Sept. 18, and when she turned around, a man was standing nearby. She later learned a 10-year-old girl had reported being sprayed too, and that the man appeared to be recording as he approached her.
Surveillance Video Shows Man Approaching From Behind
The woman described the liquid as smelling like hand sanitizer, though she said its actual identity remains unknown, according to KSNV. She couldn't immediately alert store management because she had to pick up another daughter from school, and her repeated phone calls to the store afterward mostly went unanswered, with only one attempt connecting her to anyone. When she returned to the store in person, a manager finally let her review surveillance footage, which showed a man approaching her from behind, apparently recording as he approached.
While looking at the footage, the woman learned that another shopper had also reported being sprayed. An employee told her that a mother and a young girl said they'd been targeted too, and police have since confirmed there are two victims total, including the 10-year-old. Henderson Police Department has obtained surveillance video from inside the store and says the investigation remains active.
Legal Stakes Rise With a Child Victim
Even if the sprayed substance turns out to be harmless, non-consensual contact with a liquid can still qualify as battery under Nevada law. Battery is defined under Nevada Revised Statutes Section 200.481 as any willful and unlawful use of force upon another person, per the Nevada Legislature. One of the alleged victims is a 10-year-old girl.
The man's apparent recording of the encounter also raises separate legal questions. Surreptitiously recording a private, in-person conversation without authorization can be charged as a Category D felony under NRS 200.650 and NRS 200.690. Gallo Criminal Defense Las Vegas notes that the location alone does not resolve whether a recording is unlawful and discusses restrictions on recording private conversations, according to Gallo Criminal Defense Las Vegas.
Kroger Says It's Cooperating With Police
The woman posted the surveillance images anonymously on Facebook, asking the public for help identifying the man, but Henderson police have said they cannot confirm whether the person shown in those images is a person of interest in the case. She also emailed Smith's parent company Kroger about the incident, describing it as a serious customer-safety matter, and the company responded that her complaint would be forwarded for further review.
Kroger says it is cooperating with Henderson Police Department and has provided investigators with information to assist the inquiry, the same account reports. The woman told the outlet she now feels anxious about returning to the store, a store that anchors a rapidly growing corner of the valley — the Smith's sits at Lake Mead Parkway and Warm Springs Road in the Cadence community, according to a KLAS 8 News Now report on its grand opening. Cadence has nearly 7,000 homes built toward a planned 13,250, per LoopNet, making the store one of the primary commercial hubs for thousands of suburban families in the area.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Prank Filming
Incidents like this one echo a broader trend playing out at retailers well beyond Henderson. A September 2026 survey from the UK retail charity Retail Trust found that 30% of store employees reported being recorded without consent by people chasing social media views, describing it as a growing epidemic of disruptive filming aimed at shoppers and workers, per The Mirror. Police departments elsewhere have started treating these incidents as criminal matters rather than harmless stunts — Tempe, Arizona police arrested a 21-year-old man in July 2025 for leading disruptive store pranks, according to footage reviewed by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Henderson Police Department has said it is actively investigating and is encouraging anyone with information to come forward. Southern Nevada residents can also submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers of Nevada by calling 702-385-5555 or by texting CRIMENV plus tip details to 274637.
