Startling surveillance video reveals the moment an elderly woman, consumed by anger, clashed with Tim Hortons employees before tragically succumbing to a heart attack.
Anita Grayson, aged 75, was caught on camera vocally confronting young staff members at a Tim Hortons in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 13, over an error in her drive-thru order.
The situation intensified when a 20-year-old worker asked Grayson to leave, prompting her to allegedly ‘forcefully’ push the employee and another colleague, according to police reports.
Authorities state that Grayson then struck one of the employees in the face and pulled out a chunk of her hair.
Reacting to the altercation, a staff member defensively swung her arms, causing the elderly woman to fall. Grayson managed to stand again and was given a cup of water by the manager in an attempt to calm the situation.
When officers arrived approximately ten minutes later, Grayson was found unresponsive. Despite receiving medical attention, she was declared dead due to a heart attack.
A segment of the footage showing Grayson being knocked over was shared to social media by her daughter, Tawnda, leading to calls for the Tim Hortons workers to be arrested.
Police then released the full video showing Grayson attacked the workers first, saying they hoped the full context would ‘alleviate the uneasiness that many felt after seeing the video,’ per 21Alive.
Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a raging elderly woman flew into a frenzy at Tim Hortons workers before suffering a fatal heart attack
Anita Grayson, 75, berated young workers at the coffee shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana, last week as she complained about a mistake in her drive-thru order, before she suddenly died
Tawnda said she is not satisfied with the response from police.
‘My mother was wronged in the worst way,’ she told 21Alive. ‘I lost the matriarch of my family.’
She said an anonymous person texted her surveillance video of the incident, which she said she took as an answered prayer.
‘I just called out to God, we need to see it. I have to see that – please show me -because I need to at least know how, why,’ Tawnda said.
She said she has been left confused and heartbroken by her mother’s death, accusing the coffee shop workers of playing a role in her heart attack.
‘You should not enter a coffee shop for a coffee and a doughnut and come out unalived,’ she added. ‘That is diabolical.’
The Allen County Coroner’s Office has not ruled on Grayson’s cause and manner of death, but preliminary findings show there were ‘no significant contributory injuries’ that contributed to her heart attack.
Tawnda said her mother had congestive heart failure, but said she does not accept the police’s account of the incident and believes her mother should not have died.
Footage showed Grayson entering the Tim Hortons to complain about a mistake in her order
Grayson apparently put her hands in the worker’s face as she berated them
A worker shoved Grayson backwards after the elderly woman hit her in the face, police said
Grayson was sent tumbling to the ground, and when police arrived ten minutes later, they said she was unresponsive
Grayson’s daughter, Tawnda, said she is not satisfied with the response from police, who suggested her mother started the fight
‘That’s an elderly lady. That’s not how we treat our senior citizens,’ she said.
‘We be careful with them. We make sure that they’re alright. We don’t jump on them and attack them. And scare them to death.’
Following backlash on social media, the Fort Wayne Police Department said it understood the public concern but said early footage of her being shoved over was out of context.
A spokesman urged the public to ‘allow the review process to proceed based on the full body of evidence, not incomplete video clips or inaccurate narratives.’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for Tim Hortons said: ‘We were deeply saddened to learn about this incident and our heartfelt condolences go out to the loved ones of Anita Grayson.
‘The health and safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority and the local franchisee has been cooperating fully with the local police.’
