Authorities are looking into a violent clash involving a longtime street vendor in downtown Los Angeles after disturbing video of the attack spread across social media.
The confrontation happened near Figueroa and 7th streets, where Arabelia Martinez was operating her food stand when a dispute with another woman escalated into a severe physical assault.
Footage shared online appears to show the argument starting at Martinez’s vending setup.
In the video, an unidentified woman is seen pouring hot sauce onto the vendor’s hot dogs, ruining items Martinez had been selling. Martinez then appears to throw a red-colored powder in the woman’s direction, after which the situation quickly intensifies.
The recording shows the woman moving toward Martinez as the vendor tries to retreat. Seconds later, both women fall to the ground, where the suspect is seen repeatedly hitting Martinez in the back of the head.
Multiple bystanders step in to pull the women apart, but the confrontation continues.
After Martinez is helped up and starts to walk away, the video shows the woman running up behind her and attacking again. The suspect appears to strike Martinez in the head and face, then grab her hair and pull her back down as stunned witnesses watch nearby.
The victim’s family believes the confrontation may have been motivated by racism. Martinez’s son said the woman began harassing his mother while she was selling food, allegedly telling her to return to Mexico and making other racist remarks before the attack.
In the aftermath of the assault, Martinez’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign that had raised more than $97,000 toward its $120,000 goal as of Wednesday.
“My name is Constantino Garcia, and I’m raising funds for my mom, Arabelia Martinez — a beautiful, hardworking street vendor in Downtown Los Angeles who was tragically assaulted earlier this week,” Garcia wrote on the fundraising page.
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He said the money would help cover therapy, recovery time away from work and replacement of damaged equipment and supplies.
“The assault not only left her physically and emotionally shaken, but also resulted in damage to the items she works so hard to maintain,” Garcia wrote.
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez, an Uber Eats delivery driver, said the attack was among the worst incidents he has seen in the area.
“It was horrible. It really made me angry, myself, witnessing that. Worse than a lot of the others. I’ve seen other times people getting attacked, and what not here, but that really, it just feels so wrong. It’s just like, there’s no reason to be doing that at all,” Gutierrez told ABC7 eyewitness news.
Gutierrez said the woman appeared to be suffering from mental health issues or possibly under the influence.
“And then I see her suddenly push over all of the items of at least one of these vendor stands. Dozens of fruit cups, an entire hot dog cart,” he said.
Authorities have not announced any arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The video has sparked outrage online, with many expressing support for Martinez and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
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