UPDATED 7/11, 5:55 p.m. ET: TMZ has reported that Danny Trejo and his friend being attacked on the Fourth of July is being investigated as a hate crime.
According to sources in connection with the LAPD, a battery/hate crime report has been filed following the brawl that involved water balloons at the Sunland-Tujunga parade last week. When police arrived at the scene, the alleged attackers made a run for it, but Trejo had already accused the individuals of assaulting him and his friend Mario Castillo because of their race. Others who remained at the site of the incident refused to file a complaint.
If any hate crime laws were violated, the investigation will be handed over to prosecutors.
See original story below.
Danny Trejo is looking to set the record straight as far as his involvement goes in a brawl during a Fourth of July parade in Los Angeles.
The Trejo's Tacos founder tells TMZ that the viral video caught him reacting to someone hitting him with a water balloon that a person in the crowd claimed to be filled with acid.
"I don't think I would've even got out of the car if somebody hadn't yelled, 'It's acid!'" the 80-year-old actor explained.
"We didn't know it was water at first, that's why I panicked," he later added.
Trejo claimed he confronted the individual who was allegedly holding water balloons and swung on them because they grabbed the Machete star by the shirt. He clarified that he only fell to the ground because he stepped back and missed the curb.
Trejo and his friend, who came away pretty banged up from the brawl, believe they were "targeted" over their ethnicity.
"I'm just sad that there's still people like from the '50s and '60s that still feel the same way," he said. "Because no one else was targeted."
TMZ posted photos of Trejo's friend's injuries, which include a black eye and bruising on both of his arms.
Trejo admitted he's bummed about the behavior of all parties, himself included. "I am so sad," he said. "I'm sad that I behaved the way I behaved. I'm so sad that grown men gotta throw water balloons to enjoy a day."
