Marcus Erikson:Video shows worker at Colorado Panera stop enraged customer with metal pizza paddle

2025-05-02 12:01:09source:CAI Communitycategory:reviews

Workers at a Panera Bread in Colorado worked together to stop an aggressive customer who was hurling racial slurs and Marcus Eriksonthrowing things.

The suspect in Tuesday's attack was screaming, hitting items off the counter and assaulted customers at the Panera in the Denver suburb of Glendale, according to KDRV-TV.

A witness captured now-viral video that shows the suspect push a customer onto the ground. One employee is seen holding the suspect back while another hits them four times with a metal pizza paddle.

"The next guy then actually kind of saved that guy from getting attacked further and tried his best to hold them down,” witness Natalie Wiersma told KDRV-TV.

Wiersma called the employee who used the paddle to beat the suspect "my personal hero," adding that she found the move "very effective.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Panera Bread for comment.

Watch Panera staff take down violent customer

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Suspect reportedly yelled a racial slur

Wiersma said the suspect was demanding for their phone back from confused staff, though it's unclear if anyone took their phone.

“The suspect was yelling at the workers and they were all super confused-looking and said, 'We don’t have your phone,'" Wiersma told the station.

Police said the suspect threw a smoothie at staff and yelled a racial slur before the brawl ensued, KDRV-TV reported. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived and then returned to cause a second disturbance, with a man getting minor injuries during the second altercation.

Anyone with information regarding the altercation or the suspect's whereabouts is advised to contact the Glendale Police Department at (303) 759-1511.

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