Whole Foods employee arrested after alleged knife assault with panhandler outside Somerville store

SOMERVILLE — On Sunday, March 30, 2025, at approximately 6:46 p.m., Officer Alex Lorenti of the Somerville Police Department was dispatched to the Whole Foods located at 45 Beacon Street following a report of a fight between two males. One of the men reportedly had a knife.

Officers Joseph Moreira, Keighla McAloney, and Sergeant James Torres responded as backup.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from a summary of the incident written by Officer Lorenti in the Somerville Police Department’s weekly arrest log and do not reflect any political or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

When he arrived on scene, Officer Lorenti was met by the victim who stated that an employee of Whole Foods, later identified as Eric Illouz, assaulted him, and pulled a knife on him.

According to police, Eric Illouz, 21, is a resident of 92 Whitfield Street, Apt. 3, Dorchester, MA.

“I asked [the victim] to describe the events that took place prior to the arrival of the Somerville police,” Officer Lorenti said. “[The victim] stated that he comes to Whole Foods a lot to ask people for spare change. He went on to say that while he was doing this, Illouz had come outside of the store. [The victim] asked Illouz if someone by the name of [name redacted] had been around. [The victim] stated that Illouz started to yell at him and told him he didn’t want to be involved in anything. When asked what Illouz had said to [the victim], he was unable to tell me. [The victim] then told me that Illouz went back inside the store. [The victim] then stated that he did not like the way Illouz spoke to him.”

The victim said that about two hours after that interaction with Illouz, Illouz came back outside the store.

“[The victim] stated to me that he told Illouz that he had a surprise for him soon,” Officer Lorentia said. “When I asked him what he meant by that, [the victim] stated that he was going to call Whole Foods corporate and file a complaint on Illouz, however [the victim] stated that Illouz took that as a threat.”

Officer Lorenti added, “It was at this point [the victim] stated that Illouz approached him and grabbed him by his gray hooded sweatshirt. While holding [the victim] by the hood, Illouz pulled a knife out of his pocket and put it to his throat. When I asked [the victim] if he had touched his neck with the knife, he stated, ‘yes, he pressed down on my neck.’ I then asked [the victim] how he was able to get away from Illouz, to which he stated that he pulled away and then fell backwards. [The victim] denied any medical treatment.”

Officer Lorenti then met with Officer McAloney who was speaking with three witnesses.

“I asked them to explain to me what they had witnessed between [the victim] and Illouz,” Officer Lorenti said. “[A witness] stated that the three of them were walking toward Whole Foods when they heard Illouz say, ‘don’t threaten me’ as well as cuss words. [The witness] went on to say they all observed Illouz grab [the victim] by the hood, pull it over his head, and take out a knife. [The witness] stated that Illouz then put the knife to the left side of [the victim’s] face. They then saw [the victim] fall backwards towards the street.”

The other two witnesses agreed with the first witnesses’ account, according to Officer Lorenti.

Officer Lorenti then went to speak with Illouz.

“He stated to me that he and [the victim] exchanged words earlier in the night over [the victim] asking him about [name redacted],” Officer Lorenti said. “Illouz stated that he told [the victim] that he didn’t want to be involved with him. Illouz then told me that when he was leaving to go home for the evening, [the victim] then said to him, ‘Don’t worry I have a surprise for you soon. I know a lot of gangs and they will jump you soon.’ Illouz said he took this as a threat. It was at this point Illouz approached [the victim], grabbed him by his hood, and pulled a knife on him. Illouz stated that he did not put the knife to [the victim’s] neck, but he did put the knife near it. I would add that Illouz stated that he was not in the right frame of mind and that he suffers from PTSD, as well as struggling with people telling him what to do.”

Officer Lorenti added that Officer Moreira asked the manager of Whole Foods if video footage of the incident was available. The manager responded that there was no camera in the area where the incident occurred.

Officer Lorenti arrested Illouz and charged him with Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.

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