A shocking video has captured the brutal moment a 62-year-old hot dog vendor was violently attacked in broad daylight in downtown Los Angeles.
Arabelia Martinez, who has sold hot dogs for years from her cart near Figueroa and 7th Streets to support her family, was confronted by an unidentified woman around 4 p.m. on June 15.
Footage shows the woman approaching the cart and dumping hot sauce all over Martinez’s hot dogs and grill, ruining her food and livelihood in seconds.
Martinez fought back, hurling a container of the popular Mexican Tajín seasoning at her attacker.
That’s when the situation exploded into chaos.
The woman lunged forward, shoving the elderly vendor hard to the pavement. She then grabbed Martinez by the hair and repeatedly struck her, including blows to the back of the head, as stunned bystanders watched.
Martinez was helped to her feet and tried to walk away, but the attacker struck again from behind. More punches rained down on her head and face. The woman yanked her hair and dragged her back to the ground in a savage continuation of the assault.
Bystanders eventually intervened to pull the attacker off, but not before the damage was done.
Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said the woman had first tried to intimidate and extort his mother, claiming she needed some kind of permit, which Martinez already had. When that failed, the verbal abuse turned ugly.“She said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” Garcia told reporters. “Disgusting things.”
The attack left Martinez with lingering head pain so severe that she may need to see a specialist. She was left physically and emotionally shaken, with damaged equipment and supplies at her stand.
Garcia set up a GoFundMe to help with his mother’s recovery, therapy, time off work, and replacing her damaged cart and goods. As of this week, the campaign had already raised more than $97,000 toward its $120,000 goal.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia asked. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
A witness who arrived on scene described the attacker flipping over vendors’ tables and pushing over items, including fruit cups and part of the hot dog setup. He said it appeared the woman may have been dealing with mental health issues or under the influence.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident as a battery. The attacker remains at large and unidentified.
