A crowd pummeled a ferris wheel operator at a carnival in Miami-Dade County over the weekend after he reportedly attacked a mother.
The incident, according to reports, took place on Saturday at the Opa Locka Hialeah Flea Market Carnival.
What are the details?
In a
viral video, a mother can be seen scolding a ferris wheel operator as she and her young children exit the ride.
The man, who remains unnamed at the time of this reporting, can be seen shoving the woman and appearing to choke her. During the attack, the man appears to knock over one of the woman’s young children, who falls hard to the ground next to the ride.
Just seconds later, a crowd swarms the ferris wheel operator in defense of the mother and attacks him.
Bystanders said that the ride operator previously got into a physical altercation earlier in the evening with another person. That incident was also caught on
video and, according to Twitter user Your Dad’s SideChick, showed the man trying to fight a co-worker.
“Okay, so apparently dude was just on one that night … tried to fight his coworker and everything. Look at this s***! Just before the fight happened,” the user wrote.
😭 at opa locka flea 😭 fighting https://t.co/nezvG1xZDt
— Miami♛ (@Miami♛)1618717455.0
Crazy. https://t.co/IRohq27ZyH
— Sarah Taylor (@Sarah Taylor)1618854714.0
What else?
According to
Newsweek, the carnival — which is operated by Hildebrand Amusement Rides — and its flea market began on April 8 and is set to continue through April 25.
WPLG-TV
reported that authorities were able to obtain enough evidence about the incident to arrest the carnival employee.
The station reported that off-duty officers working the carnival called for backup after an “escalating disturbance within the venue.”
“According to Opa-Locka police, when officers entered the flea market to investigate, dozens of people ran to the exit,” the station noted. “Officers were not able to locate the alleged victim, who was seen on video that circulated on social media.”
Detectives were eventually able to identify and locate the woman for interview.
In a statement, the Opa-Locka Police Department said that it does not “tolerate any criminal acts of violence and will prosecute those individuals to the fullest extent of the law.”