‘Easter Bunny Throwin' Hands': Video Shows Rabbit in Brawl at NJ Mall

Man dressed as the Easter Bunny and a father are charged after the fight

A man dressed as the Easter Bunny got into a fight with a father after the dad's 1-year-old child slipped from the costumed man's chair following a photo, authorities said.

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said the fight at the Newport Centre Mall broke out at about 5 p.m. Sunday when authorities said the father harassed, then attacked the costumed character after his child fell from the man's lap.

Video posted to Twitter by user @kevinp461 (apparently changed later to @2jrb123) shows a man partially dressed in a bunny costume brawling with mall shoppers in a chaotic scene at Newport Centre in Jersey City.

The footage shows several people throwing punches as mall security officers try to intervene. A large crowd looks on as the fight continues. 

The man in the costume, 22,  disappears behind a holiday display, but comes back moments later, rips off his white bunny paws and starts "throwin' hands," someone says in the video.

"He curb-stomped him," the narrator says. "The Easter Bunny got in a fight."

Mall security and bystanders then appear to take the costumed man into custody.

After the fight, the man dressed as the bunny and the father were both taken to Jersey City Medical Center for minor injuries.

The man in the costume, Kassim Charles, and the father, 44-year-old Juan Jimenez-Guerro, were both arrested after the fight on aggravated assault and disorderly conduct charges. Charles was also arrested on an open warrant for fare hopping, Morrill said. 

"The safety of guests and cast members is of utmost importance to the Noerr Programs, which operates and manages the Easter Bunny photo program," the company said in a statement, adding that it is cooperating with authorities. 

We "have assigned other employees to fill the role of Bunny," the statement said.

Easter Sunday is on March 27. 

https://twitter.com/kevinp461/status/711669257306808321
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