Video of woman getting slapped for racist tirade is hailed on social media

Greg Conn, who was at the store, filmed the interaction between Harrian and the other woman, later identified as Karina Rodriguez. In the clip, Harrian is seen walking up to him and saying, “you need to leave, you’re not a part of this”. She then goes back to Rodriguez and asks her where she was born.

“I was born in America, b—-, where are your ancestors from?” Rodriguez asks. As Rodriguez and her husband take their bags and start to head out, Harrian continued to insult her and even grabbed her arm. Rodriguez slapped Harrian in response. A startled Harrian then walks out of the store.

“Racism is alive and well,” Conn wrote while sharing the footage.

[Disclaimer: Strong language and profanity, viewers discretion is advised]

The video got over 1.2 million views and many supported Rodriguez’s actions, saying it was “self-defence”.

In an interview with Telemundo Arizona, Rodríguez said the racist comments left her in tears. “It hurt my heart a lot. When I left, I cried a lot. It brings me a lot of sadness that this happens,” Rodríguez said.

The store where the incident took place also issued a statement and said that Harrian was falsely claiming to be the store’s manager. The store clarified Harrian has been banned from visiting any of their stories in future and “condemned” her actions.

“Superpumper does not condone her actions. It condemns her actions in every way possible. Our team at Superpumper does not condone racist behavior of any type, including the offensive, ignorant hate speech displayed in this incident,” the store wrote in public Facebook post.

Harrian’s husband apologised for her actions, saying she suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness that she has refused to accept treatment for. Talking to NBC News, her husband Bob Harrian said, “Horrible things were said and a lot of those horrible things came from my wife. It came from a spot of an illness.”

When asked why he hasn’t ensured she received treatment, the husband said he didn’t think she was at risk to herself.

“This is your spouse you have known and loved for 30 years and she is starting to slip away. And you are trying to get her help but you can’t get her help because she doesn’t think there is anything wrong with her,” he said.