Full Breakdown
Vons Store Remains Open After Customer Dies in Bakery Aisle
7/12/2026, 8:00:49 PM
Incident Overview
On July 5, a customer experienced a medical emergency in the bakery aisle of a Vons supermarket in Granada Hills, Los Angeles. Los Angeles Fire Department crews arrived shortly after 7 p.m. after the store reported a cardiac arrest. Employees Paszion Horner-Smith, a supervisor, and another staff member performed CPR, but the customer was pronounced dead on the scene. Store managers instructed staff to cover the body with shopping carts and umbrellas and to keep the aisles open while the family waited for a mortuary to remove the deceased. The family remained in the store for approximately four hours as other shoppers continued to browse.
Employee and Union Reactions
Horner-Smith, reflecting on her 27-year tenure with the company, said the incident was unprecedented for her. Union representatives, led by UFCW Local 770 President Kathy Finn, contacted Albertsons’ labor-relations department to request clarification of emergency-handling protocols. The union urged a review of company policies, describing the situation as indicative of a broader “callous attitude” toward workers’ needs.
Corporate and Official Response
Albertsons, the parent company of Vons, did not provide an immediate comment to CBS Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that its crews responded to the emergency call but offered no further details on the store’s handling of the incident.
Criticism of Store Policy
Critics highlighted the decision to keep the store open and to conceal the body rather than suspend operations. The union’s statement framed the incident as a failure of existing emergency procedures, calling for the development of clear guidelines for handling deaths that occur on retail premises.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It's just something I've never, ever in my 27 years that I've worked for the company, ever encountered or dealt with,” — Paszion Horner-Smith, Supervisor
- “I'm being called by someone in corporate because they're looking at the cameras, telling me that I need to barricade the body by using carts,” — Paszion Horner-Smith
- “They can't even see their loved one. They can't touch their loved one. They sat in the store for four hours while people continued to shop around their deceased loved one.” — Paszion Horner-Smith
- “This situation is just one incident of that kind of callous attitude towards the needs of the workers,” — Kathy Finn, President, UFCW Local 770
- “You need to have some sort of policy for when someone passes away in the store. This should not have happened.” — Paszion Horner-Smith
