Dramatic video footage shows the moment a Whataburger manager in Paris, Texas, used a trash can to beat a man who allegedly was abusive towards employees.
The incident unfolded Sunday at the fast-food burger joint, located 100 miles northeast of Dallas, when a man dressed in all black allegedly entered and began attacking an employee, according to witness Billy Jones, who recorded the altercation while eating inside.
Police say employees reported that a man was verbally abusive and asked to leave the store. He complied, but threatened that he’d be back when police had left. Chaos ensued upon his return after he allegedly attacked the manager by punching him multiple times, a police release say.
One staff member struck the suspected attacker in the head with a wire fry basket, knocking him to the ground, as other workers called for help, Jones told Fox 4. As captured in the video, a male manager is then seen repeatedly raising a trash can over his head, then lowering it to hit the suspect as another worker shouts about pressing a panic button.
The suspect in the video has been identified by police as Anthony William Newhuis, 41, of Spring, Texas. Police later located him in the restaurant’s parking lot, bleeding from an apparent head injury, and took him into custody, WFAA reports.
Newhuis was charged with public intoxication and assault causing bodily injury, and later faced a criminal mischief charge for intentionally flooding a jail cell, police said, according to the WFAA.
Officials said no employees were injured in the incident.
A Whataburger spokesperson told The Independent: “At Whataburger, Guest and employee security are a top priority. We take incidents such as this seriously and are fully cooperating with authorities.”
The Independent has contacted the Paris Police Department and Whataburger for comment.
