SANTA ANA, Calif. – A bizarre encounter inside a California Starbucks this week ended in the death of an allegedly aggressive man after he was struck by a customer with a skateboard, witnesses and police told KTLA.
It happened midday Tuesday inside a strip mall Starbucks in Santa Ana, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles in Orange County.
Witnesses told KTLA a man was pacing back and forth outside the coffee shop and bothering customers seated on the patio. He then began punching the store’s windows and soon after went inside, the station reports.
Witnesses said it appears the man was under the influence.
Once inside, the man allegedly zoned in on a young skateboarder.
“He just came abruptly into the store, looked at the kid, and said, ‘Did I stutter?’” witness Jocelyn Martinez told KTLA. “He took a step forward towards the kid as if he were going to attack him, and that’s when the kid hit him with the skateboard.”
Martinez said the skateboarder acted in self-defense.
The younger man – described to be in his 20s – hit the older man once in the head, knocking him to the ground. At first, the skateboarder ran from the coffee shop but stayed at the scene and was cooperative with police, KTLA reports.
The older man – described to be in his 50s – who was hit with the skateboard died, Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
