Popeyes worker who 'body-slammed' a customer, 55, leaving her with a broken leg and six broken ribs is arrested as it's revealed altercation happened because she was charged twice for her $13.11 meal

A Popeyes employee has been arrested after being caught on video body-slamming a customer outside a Tennessee store. 

Deriance Ra'Shaiel Hughes, 29, has been charged with felony aggravated assault after allegedly attacking Debra Staggs in a dispute over her check.

Rocky McElhaney Law Firm which is representing Staggs, 55, said she was trying to get a refund after being charged twice for her $13.11 meal. 

Video of the attack quickly went viral with the footage showing people chasing Staggs outside the restaurant. She is then body slammed to the ground by a man who is now believed to be Hughes. 

Staggs has been left with a broken leg, nine fractures in her elbow and six broken ribs.

She has already had two operations and is expected to need months of rehabilitation. 

Deriance Ra'Shaiel Hughes, 29, has been charged with felony aggravated assault after allegedly attacking Debra Staggs in a dispute over her check

She had eaten at the restaurant on Sunday and returned Tuesday after realizing she had been charged twice for a $13.11 meal of chicken tenders, corn, biscuits and apple pies. 

According to the Tennessean, Staggs spoke to a manager on the phone who told her to return to the Columbia outlet for a refund.

Rocky McElhaney, chief executive officer and lead attorney of the law firm representing her, said: 'When she got there she was treated with hostility and anger from the manager.

'There were words back and forth.' 

Separate footage taken inside the restaurant shows Staggs and employees arguing before the physical altercation happened. There are conflicting reports of what was said.

In the audio the man filming says: 'You are in the wrong place saying the N-word.' 

A racial slur is not heard in the footage and Staggs, who is white, denies using the N-word. 

A spokesperson for Popeyes said: 'These actions run completely contrary to our standards and the integrity of our brand. 

'Following an investigation, the franchisee took immediate action and we were informed that the employee has since been terminated. The entire circumstance is highly unfortunate for all involved and we hope to never see this type of behavior again.'  

The altercation is the latest in a series of disturbing incidents, including a fatal stabbing, to have occurred at Popeyes restaurants amid the return of its popular chicken sandwich, which has sparked chaos nationwide.  

On Monday, a Popeyes customer was stabbed to death during an argument in a line for the restocked chicken sandwich at a branch of the fast food chain in Oxon Hill, Maryland. 

Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski appealed for the public's help in identifying the man who fatally stabbed 28-year-old Kevin Tyrell Davis following the dispute. 

Stawinski said only 15 seconds elapsed from when the altercation started to when it ended with the stabbing. 

Davis had been 'methodically' cutting his way through the line for sandwiches for 15 minutes before the suspect confronted him at the front counter, the chief said.

'The question my detectives have to answer is, 'How does a confrontation lead to a homicide in 15 seconds?'' Stawinski told reporters outside a police station in Upper Marlboro.  

Police released surveillance camera images of the suspect and a woman who apparently was with him inside the restaurant and fled with him in a car after the stabbing. Investigators want to speak with that woman.

'We think she has some pretty vital information to the investigation,' said police department spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan.

Stawinski said there is no evidence that the suspect and victim knew each other.

Police found a knife in Davis' possession after the stabbing, but investigators don't believe he brandished it during the confrontation.

Davis, of Oxon Hill, died at a hospital. He had been stabbed once in the upper body, the police spokeswoman said.  

Popeyes resumed selling its chicken sandwich on Sunday. It was first released in August, and the chain credited popular demand to its supply selling out that month. 

The $3.99 meal, which comes in classic and spicy, debuted for the first time in August and was met with a frantic craze that led to long lines and fist fights at several restaurants. The sandwich sold out in a matter of just two weeks.