Called a staple of the South Los Angeles community, the taco truck was hit by a group of suspects in a brave late-night attack completely captured by cameras.
Several calls came in about 12:10am on Monday about a fatal weapon attack in the Sloughson Avenue and Avalon Boulevard areas, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“One caller said there was a large group of suspects armed with bats and rocks,” a LAPD spokesman told KTLA. “Another caller said he was breaking a window and attacking an employee at the location.”
The officers rushed to the scene. However, by the time all the suspects arrived, they had fled the area. No arrests have been made in connection with the 36-hour incident since.
Several police reports have been made, including robbery, deadly weapon assault and vandalism, according to the LAPD.
Wildfires causing poor air quality as temperatures rise in Southern California
Although authorities did not immediately disclose details of the attack, a report from the LA Tacos (an independent media outlet covering “street-level news articles” across LA) shows that a group of “nearly 30 men” attacked 13 workers at the Tacos Poblanos on Tijuana Steel Taco Tracks, located inside a car wash parking lot.
A later statement from LAPD showed that there were “about 15 suspects known as male Hispanics” involved in the incident.
The statement detailed that there were six casualties, five of which were handled on the scene due to complaints of pain.
The taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was attacked by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught up in cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (IG/@TACOSLOSPOBLANOSESTILOTIJUANA)
“Asada experts from Tijuana Style, a staple in the South Los Angeles community for nearly 15 years, have never experienced an incident of this magnitude,” said Rataco reporter Javier Cabral.
Additionally, Tacos Los Poblanos has joined social media to inform the public of the incident, showcasing the damages the truck has maintained, and includes a disastrous video of the attack and aftermath in the post.
“Unfortunately, our entire team was assaulted and one of our teammates had to be hospitalized,” reads the widely loved street vendor’s Instagram post. “For all of you, be careful and look at these people.”
The pursuit of a suspected robber in South Los Angeles ends with crash
“We’ve had no issues with anyone… our team is working very hard,” the post continued. “Many of our customers let us know that this was happening as a group of disruptors were sending events live in Tiktok… this is absolutely devastating for us on so many levels.”
Speaking to KTLA 5’s Kimberly Cheng on Tuesday, a member of the truck-owning family recounted the horrifying experience and expressed his belief that the attacks that occurred when the business closed at night were not randomly provocated.
The taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was attacked by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught up in cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (Ig/@@Tacoslospoblanosestilotijuana) Taco truck, known as the staple food of the South Los Angeles community, was hit by a thief in a brave late-night attack completely caught by cameras. (IG/@TACOSLOSPOBLANOSESTILOTIJUANA)
“They started running and quickly started causing damage… They started to break things and you could see our employees realise what was going on,” said the family who asked them to remain anonymous. “They responded immediately [with] Some of them are running into the truck and trying to barricade themselves. The female employee ran over to the fence and jumped onto the fence. ”
“They smashed the windows, slashed the truck tires and the other vans,” she continued. “Then they started attacking our employees.”
After the incident, the owner asked the employee if they recognized the suspect from previous interactions, or if some of them knew if they had any form of bad experiences in the business. According to store ownership, the employee said “There’s absolutely nothing.”
Speeding driver races race on highway fires during pursuit before abandoning motorcycles and escape capture
Referring to the hospitalized workers, the employee told KTLA that they were hit in the head with a baseball bat.
“Why us? They didn’t take the money,” the employee lamented.
The ownership of the store said some of the suspects were wearing soccer jerseys for Mexican team Cruz Azur, and some said they heard screams screaming about things related to football. But I don’t know exactly what they refer to. Ownership added that no workers are not part of the soccer team.
A social media post from Tacos Los Poblanos showed that Slauson and Avalon locations will be closed until further notice. Other trucks run by the same company are open.
The cost of repairing the damage was not immediately known.
Anyone with information about an attack or additional video footage is encouraged to contact LAPD.
