Taco Bell Worker Allegedly Swings Machete at Drive-Through Customer After They Couldn't Hear to Order

Taco Bell Worker Allegedly Swings Machete at Drive-Through Customer After They Couldn't Hear to Order

One fast-food customer’s trip to Taco Bell this weekend quickly turned sour after police say the employee working at the drive-through window ended up threatening them with a machete.

Samuel Hemmitt, 21, allegedly wielded the 18-inch weapon after a customer had difficulty hearing him while ordering at the drive-through’s speaker.

The customer, who remains unidentified, reportedly drove up to the speaker at a Taco Bell in Austin, Texas on Sunday afternoon, but was having difficulty communicating with Hemmitt, who was working the drive-through, ABC station KVUE reported on Monday.

“Can you not hear?” the customer asked Hemmitt, who then allegedly began cursing at the customer.

“Why don’t you pull up and I will show you what I have for you,” Hemmitt allegedly said.

When the customer drove forward, they saw that Hemmitt was holding something out of the window — that something ended up reportedly being a machete.

Taco Bell | Joshua Blanchard/Getty
Taco Bell | Joshua Blanchard/Getty

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Hemmitt allegedly went so far as to strike the customer’s driver’s side mirror before the customer drove away and called 911, KVUE reported.

Security footage provided to Austin police by the store’s general manager allegedly showed Hemmitt running to the break room to retrieve the machete as the customer pulled up to the window, then striking the customer’s truck twice, according to the Statesman.

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The footage also revealed that Hemmitt hid the machete in a nearby dumpster after the incident, the outlet reported. Hemmitt reportedly admitted to attacking the customer with the machete to police, according to the Statesman.

Hemmitt was arrested Sunday evening on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with his bail set at $15,000, the Travis County Sheriff’s office tells PEOPLE. He was released on Monday afternoon on a personal recognizance bond, the sheriff’s office says. The Austin Police Department also confirmed his arrest.

It is not immediately clear if Hemmitt has a lawyer.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Taco Bell said, “We are disheartened to hear of this shocking incident. The franchisee is cooperating with authorities in their investigation and will take swift action against the team member in question.”