Raging elderly woman, 75, dies of heart attack after violently attacking young Tim Hortons workers for getting her order wrong

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:16, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 13:17, 20 May 2026 Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a raging elderly woman flew into a frenzy at Tim Hortons workers before suffering a sudden fatal heart attack.  Anita Grayson, 75, was seen berating young workers at the coffee shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 13, as she complained about a mistake in her drive-thru order.  The encounter escalated after a 20-year-old employee told Grayson to leave, which police say led her to 'forcefully' shove the staff member and another employee.  Grayson then struck one of the workers in the face and ripped out a lock of her hair, police say.  In response, a worker swung her arms wildly at Grayson and knocked her over, before she stood up and was brought a cup of water by the store manager to calm down.  Police say that Grayson was unresponsive when officers arrived ten minutes later and she was pronounced dead from a heart attack after medics took her from the scene.  A segment of the footage showing Grayson being knocked over was shared to social media by her daughter Tawnda, leading to calls for the Tim Hortons workers to be arrested.  Police then released the full video showing Grayson attacked the workers first, saying they hoped the full context would 'alleviate the uneasiness that many felt after seeing the video,' per 21Alive.  Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a raging elderly woman flew into a frenzy at Tim Hortons workers before suffering a sudden fatal heart attack Anita Grayson, 75, was seen berating young workers at the coffee shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana last week as she complained about a mistake in her drive-thru order, before she suffered a heart attack and died  Tawnda Grayson said she is not satisfied with the response from police showing her mother initiated the fight, saying she is devastated by her loss.  'My mother was wronged in the worst way,' she told 21Alive. 'I lost the matriarch of my family.'  She said an anonymous person texted her surveillance video of the incident, which she said she took as an answered prayer.  'I just called out to God, we need to see it. I have to see that — please show me — because I need to at least know how, why,' Tawnda said.  She said she has been left confused and heartbroken by her mother's death, accusing the coffee shop workers of playing a role in her heart attack. 'You should not enter a coffee shop for a coffee and a doughnut and come out unalived,' she added. 'That is diabolical.' The Allen County Coroner’s Office has not ruled on Grayson’s cause and manner of death, but preliminary findings show there were 'no significant contributory injuries' that contributed to her heart attack.  Tawnda said her mother had congestive heart failure, but said she does not accept the police's account of the incident and believes her mother should not have died.  Footage showed Grayson entering the Tim Hortons to complain about a mistake with her drive-thru order  Grayson put her hands in the workers face as she berated them A worker shoved Grayson backwards after the elderly woman hit her in the face, police said  Grayson was sent tumbling to the ground, and when police arrived 10 minutes later they said she was unresponsive Tawnda Grayson said she is not satisfied with the response from police showing her mother initiated the fight 'That’s an elderly lady. That’s not how we treat our senior citizens,' she said.  'We be careful with them. We make sure that they’re alright. We don’t jump on them and attack them. And scare them to death.' Following backlash on social media, the Fort Wayne Police Department said it understood the public concern but said early footage of her being shoved over was out of context.  The police department urged the public to 'allow the review process to proceed based on the full body of evidence, not incomplete video clips or inaccurate narratives.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Tim Hortons for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.