Danny Trejo claims he was the target when water balloons were hurled at him during the Fourth of July parade in Los Angeles, sparking a chaotic melee involving the famous actor.
The “Machete” star was in the passenger seat of a baby blue convertible with friend Mario Castillo as they drove through the Sunlands-Tujunga area when water balloons were hurled at them, the actor said. He told TMZ.
Trejo said he panicked when he apparently heard someone yell that the balloons contained “acid.”
“I’m so sad about the way I behaved. I’m so sad that adults have to throw water balloons and have fun all day,” Trejo told the outlet. “If someone hadn’t yelled ‘acid,’ I don’t think I would have gotten out of the car. That’s when I panicked,” he added.
Trejo jumped out of the car and confronted a group of people on the sidewalk, where he began fighting with a man wearing a black sleeveless shirt.
The suspect then landed a punch on Trejo and the two grabbed each other, causing the actor to fall backwards onto the street. Filmed by KTTV.
Trejo and Castillo claimed they were given special treatment because they are Mexican, especially since no one else was hit with water balloons during the parade.
“They were targeting us because there were no balloons flying in front of us or behind us,” Castillo said. “They were just flying at our lowrider.”
“We’re having a classic lowrider in the parade, so it would be awful if water or anything got in it,” he added.
As nearly 10 people surrounded the classic car to welcome the legendary actor, one of the parade participants allegedly threw a water balloon.
“There were about eight, nine or 10 people around the car when the balloon was thrown, so no one was worried it would hit anyone else,” he explained.
Trejo told TMZ that he was only reacting because someone grabbed him first.
by Los Angeles TimesThe confrontation turned violent when a second water balloon was thrown at Trejo’s head.
“Everybody was holding him back.” Part of the battle, The man told the newspaper: “There were a lot of people between him and the people who threw the water balloons. He was just upset. He was screaming, he was angry and he was trying to get to the guy who threw the water balloons.”
Others at the July 4th celebration blamed Trejo for the melee, saying he should have stayed in his car.
“[Trejo] “The men pushed the women out of the way to get to the men,” Sunland Tujunga resident James Spisak told The Times. “There were children there. It could have gotten really ugly. If the men had stayed in the car, this would not have happened.”
“I love Danny Trejo and I think he’s a cool guy, but he needs to know when to say ‘no,'” Spisak said, alleging that the actor slapped him when he tried to break up a fight.
It took several parade-goers to break up the brawl, but footage later showed Castillo bleeding from his eye while Trejo was being restrained.
A friend of the actor said people stomped on him while holding him down, leaving him with a bruised right eye and red, swollen arm.
Trejo didn’t seem too bothered by the incident, laughing it off and calling the brawl an embarrassment.
“They couldn’t hurt me. It’s sad. It would be embarrassing if I attacked an 80-year-old man and he was still talking and laughing,” Trejo said.
