Danny Trejo delivered a harsh warning to audiences after he was struck by water balloons at a Fourth of July parade outside Los Angeles.

The 80-year-old star was enjoying his ride in a vintage lowrider at the annual event but things turned ugly when a bystander hurled items at the car and someone yelled “it’s acid!”

Responding, Trejo flew out of the vehicle with fists swinging at the “cowards” in the scuffle his friend believes was racially triggered. Keep reading to learn what happened to the Machete star!

On June 30, actor Danny Trejo shared a heart melting message on X, announcing that his beloved chihuahua Dixie Wixie had died.

“Hold your babies tight for me please. Today I lost my little Dixie Wixie,” the Bad Ass actor captions an adorable image where he’s seen lovingly cupping the tiny dog in his large hands.

Days later, the actor was the guest of honor at the Fourth of July parade, hosted by Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills Rotary Club, in the Valley outside of Los Angeles.

Trejo – who transformed his life since the 1960s when he spent time in California’s prison system – was invited by the rotary club to ride the parade route in a classic convertible low-rider, a customized vehicle with a lowered body.

ABC News reports that the father of three, who turned 80 in May, stopped his car along the route and was posing for photos with fans before rolling out again.

And that’s when things spiralled out of control.

‘It’s acid!’

The restaurateur said that all was going well “and then BAM, all of a sudden our car got hit by a water balloon.”

Trejo, known for his work in the community, explains he reacted quickly by fleeing the vehicle because “Somebody yelled ‘it’s acid.’”

“And I panicked, I got out of the car to look and then a balloon hit me, and then I saw the guy throwing it,” he says.

Video shared on social media shows the actor confronting a man, whom Trejo believed threw the water balloon.

The Once Upon a Time in Mexico star is then seen swinging at the man, who responds by swinging back. Though the actor wasn’t struck, he lost his footing during the scuffle and falls to the ground.

In the 10-minute scrimmage, Trejo – who jumped back up on his feet – grabs a foldable chair and tosses it at the crowd.

Before police showed up, he is also seen in a heated argument with a woman, who appears to be holding him back.

“I am a protector. I will protect all my friends, always, and that’s what I was doing,” the Mexican-American Trejo tells Fox News. said. “I hate bullies, and that’s what bullies do. [They were] very really cowards. I did this in the ‘50s and the ’60s, I’m still doing it, I’m 80 years old!”

Trejo‘s buddy Mario Castillo, who was in the lowrider behind him, tells Fox News the attack was racially motivated.

“We weren’t there to start no trouble. It was, we were just confronting the people that were throwing balloons. It was a grown man, skinhead, tattoos,” Castillo, who was also in the brawl and had some bruising around his eye.

Arnie Abramyan, who captured and shared the footage of the incident across his social media accounts, tells Fox, “He didn’t seem hurt…I don’t think he was physically hurt, I think he was upset…He was angry, and angry as a mask for pain. But at the same time, I think the blood was boiling.”

‘Disheartening’

Speaking with ABC News, a parade goer explains that tossing water balloons at a July 4 parade is tradition.

“This parade is like a thing where you throw water balloons back and forth at each other,” Stanley Herrarte told the outlet. “The reason why Danny was so infuriated was because usually people don’t throw water balloons at fancy cars when they come by.”

Abramyan, who was sitting at a cafe along the parade route, shares a clip of moments from the parade on his Facebook: “The water balloons is usually by Sunland park where everyone knows if you go down that way you can get wet.” the post continues, “It’s just not cool how things went down and it’s messed up for everyone because nothing good came out of it. It makes Danny look bad and it makes us look bad.”

Meanwhile, the Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills Rotary Club shared an apology to the actor on Facebook and called the incident “disheartening”.

“Treasured icon Danny Trejo accepted an invitation to participate in the parade. His support of community boosted both attendance and participation in the event,” the club writes. “We would like to apologize to both Mr. Trejo and his associates that their show of good will was marred by the disrespectful actions of those along the parade route.”

Abramyan adds, “I apologize to Danny, I know you’re a good man. You’re a humble man. And thank you for taking your time and coming down to our 4th of July parade. And I’m sorry, on behalf of our community, we love you, we appreciate you, and we thank you.”

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