Police in Antioch, Calif., arrested a man Monday after punching a fast food restaurant employee in the face, causing him to lose an eye, authorities said.
The Antioch Police Department received a call on Nov. 12 at 5:25 p.m. local time (8:25 p.m. ET), reporting the attack at The Habit Burger located in the San Francisco Bay Area, police said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Responding officers found that an employee at the restaurant had been punched in the face several times “after trying to protect a person with an intellectual disability from abuse.”
Police said that the victim lost his right eye due to the incident.
The victim, 19-year-old Bianca Palomera, said the suspect allegedly cursed and threatened to “beat up” someone she identified as her co-worker’s brother, according to NBC Bay Area.
“That’s when I step in and I say, you know, ‘What you’re doing is not right,'” she told the news station.
In surveillance footage of the attack, the suspect is seen getting in Palomera’s face and hitting her. Palomera fought back and was hit several more times, NBC Bay Area reported.
The United States Marshals Service arrested Isaac White-Carter, 20, of Hayward, in connection with the incident Monday morning after a week-long investigation. He was turned over to Antioch police and charged with violence causing great bodily injury and aggravated assault, according to the statement.
It is unclear if White-Carter has an attorney at this time.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, which did not immediately return requests for comment, will prosecute the case.
In a statement, the Antioch Police Department expressed its “support and gratitude to the victim for helping a community member in need.”
Palomera said she doesn’t regret helping.
“It’s probably the last thing I ever expected from anything, but I don’t regret it at all, you know, helping out, stepping in,” she told NBC Bay Area. “It could be worse for my colleague’s brother.”