Former California gymnast likened to Marvel hero after jumping through In-N-Out window and battling irate customer with a spatula

A California man who sprang into action after seeing an irate customer terrorizing staff at an In-N-Out Burger in SoCal has been hailed a hero and likened to the Marvel character of Spider-Man online. The former gymnast reportedly jumped through the establishment’s window and fought off the customer using only a spatula.

The hero, identified as 20-year-old Luca Opperman, said he heard loud yelling from inside the In-N-Out while he was waiting at the drive-thru. “I just hear banging, super loud banging coming from the inside of the lobby,” Opperman told KTLA, adding, “I look up and I see this lady smashing what looked like a baseball bat.”

Opperman claimed he didn’t even think twice before jumping into action to help the workers whose lives were being threatened. His previous training as a gymnast and former trampoline freestyle athlete allowed him to dive through the drive-thru window feet first. He then reportedly grabbed a spatula and confronted the irate customer, who was later identified as Antonieta Sanchez, 53. Sanchez had allegedly begun threatening staff after becoming upset over how long her burger was taking.

Luca Opperman confronts the customer

Videos of the tense confrontation have spread online, where people praised Opperman’s bravery. “In and Out should give this guy free burgers for 25 years!” suggested one person on X. “Glad he helped protect the workers,” another wrote.

Witnesses compared him to Spider-Man after he jumped through the window to help those in need. By the time Opperman had intervened, most of the workers at the In-N-Out had made their way to the back room for fear of their own safety, according to eyewitnesses.

Opperman said he initially tried yelling at the woman to leave, “I’m holding the spatula, wielding my spatula and yelling at her, ‘Get out of here! Get out of here!’” However, she did not back down; she even swung her stick at Opperman, prompting the 20-year-old to lunge for the weapon. 

“That’s when you see me go in with the shoulder drop,” he told KTLA. “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.” Opperman said that the confrontation ended once he had managed to wrestle the stick out of the woman’s hands and that nobody was hurt during the whole ordeal.

Following the In-N-Out showdown, Sanchez was arrested for brandishing a weapon and felony vandalism. Opperman said he didn’t feel intimidated during the confrontation and his goal was to protect others: “If I didn’t step in right there and then, I knew that somebody would have gotten hurt.”