Mob of men assaults, intimidates Detroit liquor store owner

DETROIT (WJBK) - A mob of men vandalized property and terrorized a man at a liquor store in Detroit, beating up the owner and telling him to move out.

A party store owner says he's being terrorized by a group of men, all over a misunderstanding.

The owners are afraid for their lives and business -- and it could lead to more people getting hurt.

"We just want this to be resolved peacefully. This is all based off of a lie. They turned it into something that it is completely not," said Matthew Hourmiz, the party store manager.

Hourmiz's father had his face beaten by strangers, who sporadically through the last week have filed in their party store, threatening workers and deterring customers.

"They said I put a gun to a girl's head, and called her an N- word, which never happened," Hourmiz said.

He says it all began last Sunday when a group of minors came inside the store to harass him. He said it got so bad, he had to flash his gun.

"I didn't see a girl, our employee didn't see a girl, other witnesses here never saw) a girl. It was just a made up story.

He believes the facts were twisted because a day later, his father Andy was beaten.

"My dad had nothing to do with the incident. He wasn't even here, and he took the blame for it for no reason without any facts," Hourmiz said.

On Friday, the men filed in again, this time threatening Matthew, and asking him to come out from behind the counter. They called police and FOX 2.

"We don't feel safe, no --12 guys come in here and try to intimidate us with masks on. We don't feel safe," Hourmiz said.

The party store at east warren and 3 mile has been run by the family for more than 20 years

"Andy, he's a good guy, he tries out the neighborhood, they been here a while, he takes care of people and everything, he's very respectable," said George Williams, a regular customer.

Andy and his son hope the violence subsides before any more harm is caused.

"They need to be caught. They need to be whooped because if I was up here, although I'm a woman, I think I would've done something, because he's sweet," said Carol Conner, a regular customer.

If you recognize any of the faces in that video we showed you, give Detroit police a call.