Couple Assaults Teen Sesame Place Worker Over Masks

A 17-year-old employee at Sesame Place was forced to undergo surgery after a mask dispute at the Pennsylvania theme park Sunday ended in an altercation. The worker had asked a couple to put on their masks earlier in the day; then, around 5pm, he encountered the man and woman again at a ride and repeated his reminder. "He was aggressively punched by both the female and the male" in the face, and ended up knocked to the ground, a police officer tells 6 ABC. The teen ended up with a displaced jaw and injuries to his teeth. While a full recovery is expected, "It's going to be an uncomfortable recovery," the officer tells NBC News.

The man and woman, who were part of a group of about seven people that included children, left the park after the incident and have been tentatively identified using surveillance footage of the couple and of their car's registration information, as well as reservation and transaction information. They are estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 30, and are thought to be from New York, the Bucks County Courier Times reports. Police are working to track them down and issue arrest warrants. "It's a shame you have a 17-year-old working hard and he's doing the right thing and reminding people about the mask policy and the governor's orders, and they did not receive it well," the officer says. (More coronavirus stories.)