Danny Trejo claims he was targeted when a water balloon hit him during a Fourth of July parade in Los Angeles, leading to a chaotic brawl involving the famous actor.
The “Machete” star was riding in the passenger seat of a light blue convertible next to his friend Mario Castillo, and was driving through the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood when a water balloon was thrown at them, according to the actor. He told TMZ.
Trejo said he panicked when he apparently heard someone yelling that the balloon contained “acid.”
“I’m so sad about the way I acted, and I’m so sad that grown men have to throw water balloons to enjoy their day,” Trejo told the newspaper. “I don’t think I would have gotten out of the car if someone hadn’t yelled, ‘It’s acid.’ That’s when I panicked.”
Trejo jumped out of the car to confront a group of people on the sidewalk and started fighting with a man wearing a black sleeveless shirt.
The alleged suspect threw a punch at Trejo while the two were holding each other, causing the actor to fall on his back in the street, according to video obtained by Photo taken by KTTV.
Trejo and Castillo claimed they were targeted because they were Mexican, especially since no one else was injured by the water balloons during the show.
“It was targeted because there was no one else attacking it with balloons in front of us or behind us,” Castillo said. “You know, it only happened in our two-seater.”
“Come on, you have a classic low-rider on parade, and the last thing you want is water or anything getting in it,” he added.
About a dozen people gathered around the classic car to welcome the legendary actor when a parade attendee threw a water balloon.
“There were eight, nine, 10 people around this car when they dropped this balloon, so no one was worried that they wouldn’t hit anyone else,” he explained.
Trejo told TMZ he only reacted because someone grabbed him first.
According to the Los Angeles TimesThe confrontation turned violent when a second water balloon was thrown at Trejo’s head.
“Everyone was stopping him,” said Arnie Abramian, who took the photo. Parts of combat, “There were a lot of people between him and the people who threw the water balloon,” he told the newspaper. “He was just upset. He was screaming and yelling and angry and trying to get to the guy who threw the water balloon.”
Others who attended the Fourth of July celebration blamed Trejo for the fight, saying he should have stayed in his car.
“[Trejo] “He pushed women out of the way to get to these guys. There were children there. It could have gotten really ugly. It never would have happened if he had stayed in the car,” Sunland-Tujunga resident James Speschack told The Times.
“I love Danny Trejo, and I think he’s a great guy, but he needs to know when to say ‘no,'” Spuchak said, claiming the actor slapped him while trying to break up the fight.
It took several show participants to break up the brawl, and footage from the aftermath showed Castillo bleeding from his eye while Trejo was detained.
The actor’s friend said he suffered a bruise to his right eye and swelling in his arms after some people stepped on them while holding him.
Trejo did not seem too bothered by the incident, laughing off the altercation and calling it embarrassing.
“They couldn’t hurt me, it was sad, I would have been embarrassed if I attacked an 80-year-old man who was still talking and laughing,” Trejo said.
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