Street vendor attacked and robbed by woman in Inglewood speaks out

LOS ANGELES - The street vendor who was attacked and robbed by a woman in Inglewood Sunday spoke about the unprovoked attack.

Ernesto Francisco, 27, said he got up early Sunday morning to sell flowers in Inglewood like he normally does when a woman who got off of a bus started verbally and physically assaulting him.

Several people captured the beating on cell phone video, but Francisco said only the end of the attack was captured, and the suspect berated him for a long time.

"It lasted a very long time like ten minutes. I didn't do anything and this person started to physically assault me. She started hitting me, grabbed the flowers and hit me in the head," he said.

Francisco said the woman even choked him at some point. He said he wasn't able to understand most of what she was saying in English, but said she called him names and questioned why he wasn't able to understand her.

Street vendor attacked in Inglewood

A street vendor minding his own business was attacked in Inglewood. It was all caught on cell phone video.

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Francisco is an undocumented immigrant and said he is trying to make an honest living for himself and his family.

"It is a risk [selling flowers] but we are here to make a better life for ourselves. We are good people," he said.

Francisco said police officers told him the woman was mentally ill, and he doesn't know the motive for the attack.

"I don't know the motive of the person or whatever, but with the words she said, she was saying obscenities to me," he said.

Francisco said he was robbed in the past, but Sunday was the first time that he was assaulted while working as a street vendor. He said he was thankful for all of the passersby who stepped in to help him following the attack.

The woman, 30, was arrested on a robbery charge.

Inglewood police released this statement:

"This was an unfortunate incident, no injuries were reported, and the female was placed under arrest on charges related to a robbery. There is no further information at this time."

Francisco is taking off of working as a street vendor for a few days following the attack and has a Go Fund Me page.