NewsNation

Woman arrested in caught-on-video attack on flower vendor outside California cemetery

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) — A woman was arrested after allegedly attacking and then stealing from a man selling flowers over the weekend in Inglewood, California.

The assault Sunday morning in front of Inglewood Park Cemetery was partially captured on video. It shows the vendor, Ernesto Francisco, trying to save his flowers from a woman when she violently shoves him to the ground, picks up a bouquet and storms off.


Bystanders can be heard telling her to stop. “What’s wrong with you?” someone asks her.

Speaking to NewsNation affiliate KTLA in Spanish Monday, 28-year-old Francisco said he was still in shock.

Francisco said he was selling flowers when the woman jumped out of a bus and began assaulting him for no reason.

The assailant first yelled slurs at him before getting physical, with the entire ordeal lasting about 10 minutes, Francisco said.

After she grabbed his flowers, Francisco says she used them to strike him while he tried to keep his back towards her to protect his face.

All his flowers for the day were destroyed, Francisco said.

Inglewood police on Tuesday said they arrested the woman seen in the video, but officers could not be reached for further details on her arrest or identity.

GoFundMe page has been set up to help Francisco financially recover.

Left shaken, he said he doesn’t know if he’ll continue to sell flowers, but he’s thankful for the bystanders who helped scare off the woman.