Suspect arrested in Target attack; second suspect sought

Image 1 of 3

Dallas police have arrested one person in connection with the attack on a well-known actor outside a Target store two weeks ago.

Police announced Friday night a juvenile suspect is in custody after he and a second suspect attacked Derrick Whitener with a wooden rod.

Police say they are still actively looking for the second suspect. He is described as a black male possibly in his late teens or early 20s. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie with white lettering, red/blue jeans, white Nike shoes, black backpack, and a gorilla mask.

Police said Whitner told a Target worker that two suspicious men who had been testing door handles in the parking lot started walking towards him as he approached the store on Jan. 14. They turned around when he got to the entrance.

An off-duty officer who was working as a security guard at Target spotted the suspects near the entrance a short time later and asked them to leave the property. He noticed that one man had a 3-foot wooden dowel rod in his hand.

Police said the two men were still in the parking lot when Whitner left the store around 11 p.m. They approached him as he was walking to his car, threatened him and beat him with the stick. They took off on foot after the attack.

If anyone has information on the second suspect, please call Detective Hubner in the Assaults Unit at 214-671-3639 or Crime Stoppers at (214) 373-TIPS (8477).

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000.00 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction for this offense.