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The young Chili’s employee told local news that she would not return to work at the chain.

Diane Macdonald / Contributor/ Getty Images

A 17-year-old Chili’s hostess said she was attacked by a group of angry customers after she was unable to sit a party of 13 together at the restaurant, according to the chain’s coronavirus-related guidelines.

Kelsy Wallace told Baton Rouge news station WBRZ that a group of women ripped her hair and hit her with a wet floor sign.

“I had blood rushing everywhere,” Wallace told the local television news station.

Baton Rouge police told Business Insider that the incident is currently under investigation.

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A 17-year-old Chili’s hostess said she was attacked by a group of diners after she tried to follow the restaurant’s coronavirus-related seating rules on Sunday.

Louisiana high school student Kelsy Wallace told WBRZ that her general manager instructed employees to not sit more than six people per table, as part of the restaurant’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. On Sunday, Wallace was tasked with seating a party of 13. Wallace said that she sat six of the diners at one table, then asked the remaining seven to sit at two separate tables.

She said the party became irate and a woman began attacking the teenager. Wallace said a group of women from the party began hitting her, ripping her hair from her scalp, and ultimately slamming a wet floor sign on her face.

“I had blood rushing everywhere,” Wallace told the local television news station.

Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Baton Rouge police are currently looking into the incident.

“The investigation concerning this incident remains ongoing,” a police spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.

In her interview with WBRZ, Wallace said she was upset by the restaurant’s managers allowing her attackers to “walk out.” She said she is not planning on going back to work for Chili’s. Business Insider was not able to get in contact with Wallace for comment.

Story continues

The brutal Chili’s assault is just the latest incident involving customers physically attacking retail workers during the pandemic. Coronavirus-related policies in restaurants and stores have sparked a heated culture war that has resulted in instances of aggression and violence. McDonald’s employees have reported hundreds of assaults. In May, a Family Dollar security guard in Flint, Michigan was murdered after confronting an unmasked shopper.

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