Park Ridge Starbucks Stabbing Started Over Latte

PARK RIDGE, IL — A fight between customers turned bloody at a suburban Starbucks Sunday afternoon, leaving one man stabbed in an altercation that began over a latte order, police and witnesses said.

A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that two customers began fighting inside the store at 100 S. Northwest Highway. Park Ridge police said the incident began around 2:30 p.m. when a 26-year-old California man was berating baristas about his order.

Witnesses told WBBM the altercation began when one customer became upset with his latte order and another customer intervened to try to defuse the situation. A 28-year-old Glenview man allegedly asked him to stop.

"The guy with the wrong latte just started cutting him up," one witness told WBBM.

Police said the disgruntled 26-year-old slapped and punched the man who tried to intervene, who responded by pulling out and opening a pocket knife. The other man grabbed the blade and bloodied his hand. The Glenview resident later told police he had intended to pull out his cell phone rather than the blade, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Yellow crime scene tape was visible surrounding the Starbucks Sunday evening, and witnesses described blood inside and outside of the store.

Police said both men were detained by Cook County sheriff's deputies until Park Ridge police arrived. Both were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Park Ridge police said there is no threat to the general public, and neither man intends to file charges in the case.

Top photo: Starbucks, 100 S. Northwest Hwy. in Park Ridge | Street View