A shocking confrontation between a Dairy Queen manager and a teen employee and her mother has been caught on camera.
The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at the Dairy Queen in Homestead, Florida, and ended with the arrest of all involved and the firing of both the manager and the employee.
The teen employee said that the unpleasantness began when she got in an argument with manager Belinda Ahwach, 52, over whether her break should be 45 minutes or less than that.
‘I told her that I’m not going back on break because I did my break already,’ the employee, who was not named due to her age, told WSVN-TV. ‘That’s all I said.’
The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at this Dairy Queen in Homestead, Florida. A teen employee said she was in an argument with her manager about the length of her break
The teen employee’s mom, 42-year-old Alicia Hodge (left), came to the restaurant to pick up her daughter and confronted the manager Belinda Ahwach, 52 (right)
The teen’s mom, 42-year-old Alicia Hodge, arrived at the Dairy Queen and confronted Ahwach, surveillance video shows. Hodge admits reaching over the counter to flip Ahwach’s glasses
The manager (bottom) retaliated by hurling a display case at the mom (top center) as the teen employee (top right) looked on
The teen continued: ‘She came around and she was like, ‘Oh, you gotta go home.’ So I’m thinking I’m just going home cause she probably got mad or something. I’m on the phone with my mom at the time. My mom said she was coming.’
The teen’s mom, 42-year-old Alicia Hodge, arrived at the Dairy Queen and confronted Ahwach, surveillance video shows.
‘When I came, I approached Mrs. B and asked her, ‘What’s the problem? What did my daughter do to you to have a problem?” Hodge told the Fox affiliate.
As they remonstrated, Hodge reached over the counter and flipped the manager’s glasses, she admits and surveillance video shows.
The video shows the manager Ahwach furiously retaliating by hurling a countertop display case at Hodge.
The mother and the teen employee retreated outside to wait for police after calling 911. There they were joined by a teenage male relative.
The video then shows Ahwach retrieving a container of hot oil from the deep fryer in the kitchen, stalking outside and flinging it at the mom and two teens.
Awach then stormed back into the kitchen to retrieve a vat of hot oil from the deep fryer
The video shows Awach stalking outside and flinging the oil at the mother, the employee, and another male teen relative who had joined them
The two teens retaliated, attacking the manager who crawled feebly back into the restaurant in an attempt to escape, as they rained down blows while the mother tried to hold them back
The teen employee suffered minor burns, according to police.
The teen employee and her juvenile male relative then retaliate with a vicious beatdown on the manager as the mother tries to hold them back.
The two teens are seen on video kicking the manager as she crawls back into the restaurant in an attempt to flee.
Police arrived at the Dairy Queen soon after and arrested all four participants in the melee.
Hodge, the mother, (left) was charged with simple battery. Ahwach, the manager, (right) was charged with aggravated battery and aggravated assault
Ahwach, the manager, was charged with aggravated battery and aggravated assault.
Hodge, the mother, was charged with simple battery.
Both of the teens were charged as juveniles with simple battery.
In a statement to WSVN, Dairy Queen said that both the employee and manager had been fired from the franchise.
‘The safety and well-being of all DQ employees and customers is our top priority,’ the statement said. ‘We do not tolerate or condone any behavior that endangers employees or our valued fans.’