A Plano, Texas, Hooters manager who was viciously attacked last week at his restaurant by a group of shirtless men wants the suspects to be caught and charged.
In an interview with WFAA, Waldo Montano, 27, called the beating “senseless” and said they “need to learn how to own up to their actions.”
Last Thursday, Montano attempted to escort two children out of the restaurant who were trying to sell chocolate bars to customers without permission, Fox 4 reported. He noted that this was not the first time this had occurred with the children.
The children started to throw items around but eventually left.
As the children exited, three shirtless men later walked inside and began to argue with Montano.
The individuals started attacking Montano, with one of them hitting the 27-year-old with a pipe.
A waitress then recorded the assault on her cellphone while Montano was getting pummeled by the thugs.
“I saw so many people coming at me, so I just covered my head as best as I could,” Montano said. “I felt fear — like genuine fear. I didn’t know what to do. I was in the corner until I realized I had to get out of there.”
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Another customer tried to intervene but was also caught up in the violent altercation.
One of the attackers was then seen exchanging words with restaurant workers through a glass window before he allegedly picked up a cigarette disposal bin and threw it through the glass.
The flying glass reportedly cut some people standing nearby, with one waitress having to be taken to the ER for treatment. Montano suffered a bruise to his head and a fracture to his left arm.
“It looked like they were trying to do everything they could to keep the assault from occurring inside the restaurant,” Plano Police Detective Jerry Minton told Fox 4.
The attackers and the children left the establishment before the police could arrive. Authorities are still searching for the identities of the suspects.
Montano and some of the servers have already returned to work but noted the altercation still weighs on the staff. Montano explained to WFAA that he never wants to see his staff or any service workers treated like that again.
“We’re all human — we have feelings,” he told the outlet. “We’re all going through our own battles in life, so it gives nobody the right to come in and treat us like trash.”
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.