A Southern California man is being hailed as a hero after he confronted a violent customer who was threatening employees at an In-N-Out in Lake Elsinore.

Luca Opperman, 20, said he was waiting in the drive-thru line when he suddenly heard loud yelling from inside the fast-food restaurant.

“I just hear banging, super loud banging coming from the inside of the lobby,” he told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “I look up and I see this lady smashing what looked like a baseball bat.”

Opperman, who is a former gymnast and freestyle trampoline athlete, said he didn’t think twice before jumping into action.

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore.

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Luca Opperman, 20, speaks to KTLA. He is being hailed as a hero after confronting a violent customer at a Lake Elsinore In-N-Out restaurant.

Luca Opperman, 20, speaks to KTLA. He is being hailed as a hero after confronting a violent customer at a Lake Elsinore In-N-Out restaurant. (KTLA)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Luca Opperman was armed with a metal spatula he grabbed off the kitchen counter when he confronted the angry woman who was threatening workers at a Lake Elsinore In-N-Out restaurant.

Luca Opperman was armed with a metal spatula he grabbed off the kitchen counter when he confronted the angry woman who was threatening workers at a Lake Elsinore In-N-Out restaurant. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

Witness video captured Luca Opperman confronting an angry woman with a large, sharp stick who was threatening workers at an In-N-Out restaurant in Lake Elsinore. (@sweet.as.a.p)

With his agility, he quickly left his car and jumped through the drive-thru window, feet-first. He grabbed a metal spatula and went over to confront the angry woman who was yelling and swinging around a large wooden stick with a sharpened end. 

“I’m holding the spatula, wielding my spatula and yelling at her, ‘Get out of here! Get out of here!'”

The woman did not surrender and continued swinging the large stick at Opperman. Seeing that the woman remained combative, he decided to lunge at her to remove the stick from her hands.

“That’s when you see me go in with the shoulder drop,” he said. “I checked her. I grabbed the stick. This was a stick the size of a baseball bat, and the other end was snapped off, so it had a thick sharp end and edges.”

Fearing for their safety, witnesses said most employees had already made their way to a back room. 

One witness said the woman was reportedly upset that her burger was not being made fast enough.

Opperman said that after he seized the large stick, the tense confrontation was over and no one was injured. The woman was eventually taken into custody by police. 

Video of the tense encounter spread on social media, where many commenters hailed Opperman as a local hero.

The college student said he didn’t feel intimidated and was just doing what he could to protect others in the moment.

“If I didn’t step in right there and then, I knew that somebody would have gotten hurt,” he said.

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