Airports are stressful enough without someone turning the concourse into a one-woman demolition derby. But that’s exactly what happened at Orlando International Airport last week, when a furious passenger’s outburst spiraled into violence, destruction, and ultimately, handcuffs.
The chaos was caught on video by bystander Peyton Turbeville, who watched in disbelief as 45-year-old Selomit Velez-Rodriguez unloaded on Southwest Airlines staff. Backpack slung over her shoulders, dressed in a red long-sleeve and ballcap, she screamed profanities that echoed through the terminal.
“Motherf—–, are you kidding me?” she shrieked, slamming the counter and berating employees.
But the tantrum didn’t stop at words. In the footage, she appears to kick a Southwest employee, drawing shocked gasps from fellow passengers. One bystander can even be heard blurting out: “Oh, that’s assault.”
The meltdown escalated as she pounded on a desk monitor — three blows in quick succession — yelling about “two flights wasted” and “three planes after 45 minutes.” Witnesses say she’d missed out on making the standby list for multiple flights and even tried to slip through the gate after it had already closed. Staff told her to stop. She didn’t.
Outraged passenger attacks Southwest Airlines gate agent, bashes computer in wild Orlando airport meltdown https://t.co/IxRrZA5PWr pic.twitter.com/sVGZsdZhtO
— New York Post (@nypost) August 20, 2025
Instead, Velez-Rodriguez stalked one of the employees through the concourse, shouting for police to be called, before allegedly punching another computer monitor with her phone. Damages reportedly exceeded $1,000 — and patience in the terminal bottomed out.
Police arrived around 9:30 p.m. and quickly pieced together what had happened. According to witnesses, she had disrupted boarding, struck an employee, and destroyed equipment. When officers moved in, she resisted — not violently, but enough to earn an additional charge after trying to pull away during her arrest.
By the end of the night, Velez-Rodriguez was booked on charges of battery, criminal mischief, and resisting an officer without violence. She posted $5,000 bond and was allowed to return to Illinois, leaving behind a trail of broken screens, shaken employees, and viral video evidence of her meltdown.
