Video Footage Shows Taco Vendor’s Stand Being Vandalized — TikTok’s Juixxe Calls on Community Help To Get It Back Up and Running
A South Whittier taco vendor’s stand was vandalized by a fellow taco vendor on Thursday, essentially leaving him out of work.
As detailed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the attack occurred at 6 P.M. in the 14000 block of Mulberry Drive, and involved the other vendor using a fire extinguisher and water to ruin his competitor’s food and merchandise.
One of the taco stand’s co-owners Felipe Valencia said that he and the other workers were scared of further attacks, saying, “what’s next with those guys? There are lots of bad guys.” Thankfully, after countless videos were uploaded online, the police found the unidentified attacker and arrested him that same night at this home.
While the South Whittier community and beyond is happy to see the perpetrator arrested, many are wondering what’s next for the ruined taco stand — and the people who run it.
That’s where TikTok star @juixxe comes in. Born Jesús Morales, the social media sensation is known for helping out local vendors by collecting money on their behalf from his 1.6 million followers. Constantly taking donations through easy-to-use Cash App and Venmo, Morales goes out to the streets several times a week in search of deserving, hard-working vendors who need the money.
Morales has gone viral several times, such as with this video that shows the TikToker approach a man selling elotes outside of a local Walmart, talking to him and asking about his day.
Once he hears about how the man is having a slow day at work, he offers him a gift: $1,000 in an envelope. The man can barely believe it: you can hear the vendor become emotional, saying, “my son has down syndrome. That’s why I’m doing this. I didn’t know if I would see them for Christmas. They’re over in Mexico… with this, I will ensure that I can go see them.”
Juixxe has countless videos just like that one, approaching everyone from tamale vendors selling out of their car, to flower sellers — giving them all $1,000 in cash.
Now, Juixxe is sharing the South Whittier taco vendor’s story, and is asking old and new followers alike to help him out through donations.
The TikToker said, “the saddest part about all of this is that the guy who’s doing the damage to this taco stand is actually a worker from the food truck that’s right there in the background.”
Now that all is said and done and that the attacker has been arrested, Juixxe is organizing donations: “I want to help them out too, guys.” The TikTok star has officially begun a Venmo challenge that will go on to February 1, with all the money he gets from followers going to the deserving taco vendor.
As explained by Morales, “any donations that are sent through Venmo or Cash App will be going directly to the taco stand and all the people that work there, so we can help them make up for all the products that they ended up losing that night.”
If you are interested in helping the South Whittier taco vendor get back up on his feet after the attack, you can donate through this link up until February 1. While the attack was deeply unfortunate, grassroots donation drives like these show the power of nuestra comunidad.
