A video that shows a man screaming hateful things at a Black family in a drive-thru has gone viral.
The video, posted on TikTok by the child’s grandfather, who goes by CarlosAO503, has garnered more than 2 million views so far, along with several follow-up videos, including one from the child’s perspective inside the car.
“She doesn’t even love you guys. She wishes you weren’t around anymore. You were both accidents. You ruined her life. Mommy cheats on Daddy,” the unhinged man can be heard yelling, while the child screamed, “shut up!” She could also be heard crying while the mother tries to comfort her.
Internet sleuths later claimed to have identified the man through his license plate number, which the mother had caught on video.
His blue Jeep was right behind the mother’s SUV in the drive-thru at Starbucks on Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore, in Riverside County, California. When she got out of her vehicle to record the man’s face, the situation turned dangerous. The man began revving his engine before rolling over the curb of the drive-thru lane, coming close to the mother as she filmed.
“Are you going to hit me with your car?” she screamed.
He can be seen in the video talking on the phone, presumably to the police, while still in the drive-thru lane.
“She’s Black with her kids hanging out of the car,” he remarked. He then painted himself as the victim, telling police that “she’s holding me hostage.”
The woman indicated she didn’t feel safe walking back to her car to drive away and release his Jeep from the line. “I’m scared he’s going to hit me,” she said.
The child grandfather, who posted the videos, stated in the comments section that her daughter later tried to file a police report, even showing the authorities the videos, but was allegedly told the man hadn’t broken any laws because she had not been standing in the path of his Jeep when he rolled over the curb.
Several TikTok users tracked down what they purported to be the man’s outdated LinkedIn profile, in which he described himself as the co-owner of a Temecula business.
So many bad reviews flooded Yelp after the video exploded that Yelp temporarily disabled comments and posted a “Public Attention Alert” on the listing, saying they were working to “investigate the content.”
It read: “racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination.”
The store, however, apparently closed down three years ago; the phone is disconnected, and the website redirects visitors to a popular comic aggregator site.
It’s not clear what led to the altercation, and not everyone agrees with the mother’s actions. Some commenters criticized her for stepping out of her car.
“Why did you even do that? Now you’re saying you need to get back to your kids. Make that make sense,” wrote one. Others believed she should have spared her child from the man’s meltdown. “Roll the window up and turn up the tunes. Don’t give him the satisfaction of any attention, sis,” advised one. “Your poor baby. Ugh, my mama heart,” wrote another.
“Please bring me to the happy ending where we find who this man is,” read a comment.
Great Job Grace Jidoun & the Team @ Atlanta Black Star Source link for sharing this story.
