POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A 19-year-old restaurant employee said he feared for his life when a woman pulled a knife on him inside a Snappers Fish and Chicken restaurant in Pompano Beach nearly two weeks ago.
Betensen Louis, who recently moved to the U.S. from Haiti and had been on the job for less than a month, told Local 10 News on Friday that the violent encounter has left him shaken and unsure about continuing to work.
“I feel like I almost died,” Louis said.
According to BSO spokesperson Carey Codd, the incident was reported shortly before 10 p.m. on May 14 at Snappers, located at 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
“She takes her knife, she pulled it out and she tried to stab me,” Louis recalled. “She hold the knife like that in front of my face.”
Louis said the woman initially walked in claiming she was picking up an Uber Eats order that didn’t exist.
He said she then used the restroom, but when she returned, her behavior reportedly became erratic, according to Codd. Employees say she began harassing customers, eating their food and trying to take their car keys.
“She started to bother the people asking them for food and then she got some and after that they asked her to leave,” said Mahmod, the restaurant’s manager.
Fearing for their safety and that of their customers, employees locked the front door and called police. That’s when Louis said the woman became more aggressive.
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“I am thinking my life is over and I am thinking about my family,” he said.
When asked why the door had been locked, Louis explained, “Because when we were closing and I was cleaning, wiping.”
Codd said employees called for help and locked the front door, prompting the woman to pull out a knife from inside her hoodie.
According to Codd, the woman demanded that the door be opened and held up a knife to one employee’s face.
“An employee opened the door, and the women fled,” Codd said.
Louis said he took the job to help support his family, but after what happened, he’s not sure he feels safe enough to keep working there.
“I’m just trying to help my family,” he said. “But this was scary.”
Anyone with information about the woman’s identity is asked to call BSO Detective Karina Hernandez at 954-321-4236 or submit a tip through the SaferWatch app.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), online at browardcrimestoppers.org , or dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.