Angry customer pepper sprays workers at downtown LA dry-cleaning business; attack caught on video

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An angry customer armed with pepper spray attacked workers and the owner of a downtown L.A. dry-cleaning and tailoring business. The victims hope video of the rampage helps police find the suspect.

Orellana's Tailor Shop workers say an irate man walked into the store around 9 a.m. Wednesday and demanded they re-clean his pants. The employees said they tried to reason with the customer, but he wouldn't hear it.

Ana Rodriguez, the owner of the business, shared surveillance footage of the attack with Eyewitness News.

The video shows the man pepper spraying a worker behind the front desk. That worker retreats to the back of the business, while the suspect casually walks out of the store, pants in hand.

"We didn't know what was in his hand, and then shortly after, he took out the spray and sprayed our employee," Rodriguez said through a translator.

Rodriguez and others rushed to aid the injured employee. That's when the man returned, leaned over the front desk and proceeded to douse all of them with pepper spray.

"We noticed that he returned and sprayed all of us, and it was just chaotic because we all couldn't see at that point...it was very, very bad to the point where our employee couldn't even walk. My mom, she suffered, her face turned super red and got inflamed, and to the point where we all started coughing," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said she found it strange that the man had an issue with her cleaning service regarding a pair of pants he picked up a month ago. While she's had upset customers before, it's never translated into an attack until now, she said.

Rodriguez filed a police report, and she hopes police will find and arrest the man sooner than later.

"We're actually terrified, because the people that come in know us, but unfortunately, we don't know them from the door out. And it feels like this guy already had a purpose and an intention, especially looking back at that video," she said.