A woman accused of attacking a taco vendor in Watts, a Los Angeles County, California, neighborhood, is in custody.
The incident unfolded Sunday at Ortiz Tacos when the suspect, identified by law enforcement as Renee Latrice Hines, 36, allegedly said she would not pay for her food, Fox 11 reported Wednesday.
The situation grew heated when Hines was confronted over the issue. She allegedly punched and pepper sprayed one of the stand’s employees.
Woman seen in wild video brutally attacking taco vendor arrested, fired from job https://t.co/N8SphALc2g pic.twitter.com/mExiFoUSbZ
— New York Post (@nypost) August 10, 2023
Video footage shows Hines grabbing onto the worker’s shirt as items fly all over the place. She then allegedly punches the individual.
An ABC 7 reporter described it as a “taco tantrum” and said the suspect also threw a water bottle at the victim because the “hangry woman” did not want to pay for her meal.
The clip also shows Hines grabbing a large sign and chucking it at the workers.
“I was in shock, you could say. I didn’t know what to do. If to defend myself or not because one, she was hitting me, and I said, ‘If I defend myself, I will get hurt more,’” worker Joana Vasquez explained.
Following the altercation, the suspect fled the scene in a purple Lexus. Police later booked Hines for assault with a deadly weapon, and her bail was set at $30,000.
“Ortiz Tacos told FOX 11 they plan on pressing charges,” the outlet noted.
The incident happened at the stand on Grandee Avenue and East 103rd Street, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The outlet added that the attacker has since been fired from her job:
On Wednesday, New Jersey-based Yusen Logistics America confirmed that it had terminated an employment agreement with the woman, who had been temporarily assigned as a contractor to the global supply chain company by her employer, Carson-based Simplified Labor Staff Solutions. The woman was not identified by her employer.
The suspect had reportedly eaten at the taco stand a few times before and left without paying for her meal, the newspaper said.
Following reports about the incident, social media users quickly offered their thoughts on what happened.
“How do you lose control of your emotions like that at a taco stand?” one user questioned, while another asked, “Just want to know what the Devil was in that Taco?”
