Dollar General Workers Injured in Acid and Knife Assault Near Grants Pass

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Deputies from the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, responding to a robbery in progress at Dollar General, located at 3625 Merlin Road, Oregon, near Grants Pass, arrested the suspect, 72-year-old Mark Warren Whidden, at the store yesterday at approximately 8:40 a.m.

After victims and witnesses gave detailed descriptions, law enforcement officers from the Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, AMR, and Rural Metro discovered that Mark Whidden approached the counter and told the clerk he was going to “rob them”.

Whidden threw a cup full of a chemical, later identified as muriatic acid, on two store employees, causing severe chemical burns.

The employees fled to a nearby store restroom to decontaminate from the chemical exposure. Still, Whidden cornered them with a knife and tried to assault them with it.

Deputies who arrived at the area took Whidden into custody without further incident. At that point, he was found to be in possession of the muriatic acid and the knife used.

He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and faces charges of Robbery in the First Degree, Assault in the First Degree (x2), Unlawful Use of a Weapon (knife), and  Menacing.