Two employees at a Sonic restaurant in Yucca Valley were injured after a group of customers allegedly grew angry over their order and attacked staff before leaving the area, leaving deputies to sort through the aftermath and a swirl of unverified claims about who was involved.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the assault, which happened at the Sonic in the 58100 block of Twentynine Palms Highway, according to KESQ. Deputies were called to the restaurant on September 14 after the confrontation had already ended, the station reports.
Group Allegedly Turned On Staff Over Service
The station's report describes a group of three adults — two women and one man — who allegedly became upset about the service they received in the drive-thru. That frustration reportedly escalated quickly: the group went inside the restaurant and assaulted several employees, injuring two of them, per the same account.
Amid the chaos, someone in the group allegedly hurled a bottle through one of the restaurant's windows. As the group fled, an employee managed to snap a photo of the suspects' vehicle license plate, according to the report — a detail that could prove key for investigators still working to identify everyone involved. The suspects were gone from the scene by the time deputies pulled up, the article notes.
Social Media Claim Sparks Uncertainty Over Student Link
The case took an unexpected turn when a video circulating on social media alleged that a Desert Hot Springs High School student was among those involved in the attack. The Sheriff's Department has not confirmed that connection and is still determining whether the incident is tied to the juvenile named in those posts, KESQ reports.
The Palm Springs Unified School District said it is aware of the social media posts referencing the incident and is cooperating with law enforcement as the investigation continues. District officials said they will follow any appropriate disciplinary action, though what that might involve has not been specified.
No one had been charged in connection with the assault, and the investigation continues. Desert Hot Springs High School has drawn scrutiny before over campus violence — a brawl broke out there before a football game with Coachella Valley in 2017, according to The Desert Sun, and parents pushed for greater student safety measures following separate violent incidents on campus in 2021, per a report from YouTube. Neither of those past incidents has been shown to have any connection to this week's Sonic assault.
