Local authorities in San Jose arrested a 43-year-old business owner captured on film attacking a food vendor with a baseball bat.
Vendor Carlos Sanchez, who was manning a barbecue stand near the 1400 block of Old Bayshore Highway, told authorities that he was violently assaulted by the owner of a nearby establishment Intex Auto Parts, later identified as Kintex Ho, at around 10:40 a.m. on Feb. 18.
Video footage of the attack emerged online and has been widely shared on social media.
“I told you to leave! Why didn’t you leave? Get out of here!” Ho can be heard yelling as he began shoving Sanchez with the bat. “Get out of here! Leave! Get out of here!”
Ho went on: “This is wrong. This is illegal! You being illegal — you recording that? No problem. Go ahead. You are a criminal!”
The entrepreneur then climbed inside Sanchez’ pickup truck in an attempt to move it before confronting Sanchez again and hitting him with the bat.
After Sanchez reported the incident to the police, Ho was apprehended and charged with carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon. According to officials, the vendor declined the offer of medical attention.
Ho’s attack on Sanchez was the second time in the past week that a food vendor was attacked in the city.
On Tuesday last week, another vendor, named Saul Rencono, was attacked by a customer outside the SAP Center following an argument over payment and the speed of service. Rencono suffered a broken nose, black eye, busted lip and a headache as a result of the attack.
San Jose officials have condemned the attacks and called for an end to violence against street vendors.
“Our street vendors have the right to make an honest living without fear of intimidation or violence,” wrote San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan in a tweet.
City Councilmember Peter Ortiz also expressed his support for the vendors in an interview with KRON4, saying, “Many of these street vendors are the primary source of income for their households, bringing food to their families and supporting their children through school. These vendors are part of our community; they are parents, relatives, and friends, and we should protect them as such.”
The authorities have not released a description of the attacker in the first incident, but they are asking for witnesses to come forward with relevant information.
