ANAHEIM, CA – Customers dining at a McDonald’s restaurant near Disneyland Resort sprang into action Wednesday evening to disarm and restrain a man who allegedly attempted to set the establishment ablaze using gasoline and a blowtorch, police said.
The incident unfolded shortly after 7 p.m. at the McDonald’s located at 119 W. Ball Road in Anaheim. According to witnesses, Martin Gonzalez, 53, entered the restaurant carrying a two-liter soda bottle filled with gasoline and a blowtorch, shouting obscenities and making threats toward customers and employees.
Humberto Aguiar, who was dining with his 22-year-old son and 4-year-old grandson after visiting Disneyland, said he initially attempted to reason with Gonzalez before physically intervening when the situation escalated.
“With my right hand I pushed the bottle of gasoline,” Aguiar told reporters Friday. “Then I got on top of him to take him out, so he wouldn’t light it, and then I held him, and he poured gasoline on me and on himself.”
In a frightening moment, Gonzalez managed to spark the blowtorch, but it failed to ignite the fuel that had spilled on both men. “Thank God it didn’t light … because he would have lit up himself, me, and the whole place. It all happened very quickly,” Aguiar said.
Other customers fled the restaurant as Aguiar and another patron held Gonzalez on the ground until Anaheim police arrived and took him into custody. He was later booked on a felony arson charge.
Anaheim police Sgt. Matt Sutter praised the bystanders for their quick thinking and bravery. “The video I’ve seen … there are several kids nearby at the kiosk ordering food as well as the Good Samaritan who had the child with him… the situation could have been very, very bad,” Sutter said.
Authorities said Gonzalez has no known criminal history in Orange County. His motive for the alleged attack remains unclear, and the investigation is ongoing.
Aguiar said he believes faith guided his actions in the dangerous situation. “There was a lot of people and in my head, I couldn’t let someone hurt people and children, innocent people,” he said. “I feel like God put me there and I feel like God used me to do something.”
No injuries were reported in the incident. The McDonald’s temporarily closed following the incident but has since reopened.
