TAMPA, Fla. – Police said a Dunkin’ store employee fatally punched a 77-year-old customer in Florida after the employee said the man repeatedly used a racial slur against him.
The victim, a man who police did not name, was punched May 4 and died Friday. That led to a manslaughter charge against 27-year-old Corey Pujols, who worked at the store.
Pujols told police that the man was “extremely rude” the day of the punch and had called him a racial slur. Pujols, who is Black, said he confronted the man about the slur, at which point the 77-year-old repeated it.
The slur was not described further by police. A Tampa Police Department report says after he was punched, the victim fell backward and hit his head on the concrete floor.