Gunman pistol-whips taco vendor, shoots different street vendor in foot in South LA

LOS ANGELES - David Jimenez has worked as a cashier at Tacos Arandas in South Los Angeles for the last 15 years. 

On Saturday, he thought it would his last. 

"Me dice, ‘Dame todo el dinero,’" says Jimenez. 

He’s referring to an armed gunman who demanded all the cash in the register. 

The robbery, which was captured on security video, happened on April 23, 2022, at 11:30 p.m.

"The cashier told him, ‘Hey, I know you,’ and I guess when the guy heard he knew him, he smacked him with the gun in the head and that’s when he opened his head and he started bleeding," said worker Brian Ortega. 

Pablo Briones another street vendor saw what was happening and ran over to help. The gunman, who turned out to be a longtime customer, then turned the gun on Briones and shot him in the foot. 

Street vendors are often easy targets because they deal mostly in cash. Jimenez says other businesses in the area have also been recently hit.

He says it’s just part of life when working in Los Angeles.

The suspect in this case has since been arrested.