A manager at Panera Bread is seen hitting and punching a female employee shortly after she slaps him in a recently posted video (below) that has shocked many.
According to the New York Post, the 40-second video was shot inside the Panera Bread franchise located on Manhattan's Park Avenue South, and posted to YouTube on Wednesday.
"Panera employee quit mid shift, just wasn't having it today," the YouTube poster explained. "[She] threw some bag of chips on the floor, yelled, etc.
"Manager in white shirt basically threw her out the door," the videomaker continued. "She came back, and then.....this."
One witness
told Gawker.com that the woman was "threatening to turn up in this b****" as she was quitting her job.
"He legit' threw her down a flight of stairs and out the front door for really no reason, she runs around to the other entrance to retaliate and that’s where the video starts," the witness explained.
"I checked on her for a while after the cops left, she seemed ok, she kept saying he really got her in the ear mostly.... She was bleeding a little, and had cuts on her hands but she seemed ok after the adrenaline wore off."
A Panera Bread spokesperson soon released a statement explaining that both employees were terminated immediately.
"Today there were reports of a physical altercation between two associates at our Park Avenue South bakery-cafe. We have a zero tolerance policy for violence and worked swiftly with authorities to investigate. The associates who were determined to be involved no longer work for Panera," the corporation wrote.