Two women in Miami-Dade, Florida, were involved in a violent altercation that began outside a restaurant and ended with one woman being stabbed. According to an arrest affidavit, the two were panhandling outside Fritanga Pinolandia on Nov. 26 when an argument broke out after one woman allegedly refused to give money. The confrontation moved inside the restaurant, where 22-year-old Damaris Rodriguez is accused of repeatedly hitting and stabbing the other woman in the shoulder and back. Rodriguez was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Thirteen days earlier, she had been released on her own recognizance following a cocaine-possession arrest nearby.
Deputies reported seeing Rodriguez running away from the scene before taking her into custody. She claimed she acted in self-defense. Detectives interviewed the victim at Jackson Ryder Trauma Center, where she received treatment for a laceration to her shoulder blade that required a stitch. The victim stated that Rodriguez had been begging for money outside and became agitated when no one gave her any, eventually following her inside and attacking her.
A viral video shows the confrontation inside the restaurant, with Rodriguez approaching the victim while holding a cutting instrument and making multiple downward stabbing motions toward her head while shouting threats. Rodriguez later told detectives she had used scissors hidden in a brown pillow and admitted taking “multiple stabs” before fleeing. Police recovered the scissors in a blood-covered bag she dropped while running.
Rodriguez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. The restaurant’s manager, Bernardo Ruiz, told local news outlets that incidents involving homeless individuals are common in the area and said the situation is affecting local businesses. PEOPLE has reached out to the restaurant, which is currently closed, for comment.
