Horrifying brawl breaks out between street vendors in LA as woman weaponizes Tajín

Police are investigating a violent confrontation involving a longtime downtown Los Angeles street vendor after a shocking attack was captured on video and shared widely on social media.

The incident unfolded near Figueroa and 7th streets, where Arabelia Martinez was working at her food stand when an argument with another woman spiraled into a brutal physical assault.

Video posted online shows the dispute beginning at Martinez’s stand.

The unidentified woman can be seen pouring hot sauce over the vendor’s hot dogs, damaging the food she was selling. Martinez then appears to toss a red-colored powder toward the woman, triggering a rapid escalation.

Footage shows the suspect advancing toward Martinez as the vendor attempts to back away. Moments later, the pair tumble to the ground, where the woman repeatedly strikes Martinez in the back of the head.

Several bystanders rush in and try to separate the two women. But the violence does not end there.

As Martinez is helped to her feet and begins walking away, the video shows the woman rushing up from behind and launching a second attack. The suspect appears to punch Martinez in the head and face before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her back to the ground as horrified witnesses look on.

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.

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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