The disturbance began late on May 29, when the man entered the Ge café on Le Hong Phong Street and struck up a conversation with a young Vietnamese man at a neighboring table.

He then took the young man’s phone and refused to hand it back, prompting staff to call police.

About five minutes later, at around 12:10 a.m. on May 30, he abruptly pulled off his shirt and began kicking over tables and chairs, sending customers, several of them foreigners, and staff rushing for the exits.

Using a chair, he smashed a coffee machine, a grinder, brewing tools and a collection of antique decorative pieces on the ground floor, and shattered the café’s glass.

When officers arrived, he fled to the floor above and held a young man there in a neck hold for about two minutes before police and bystanders rushed in, restrained him and took him to the station.

The café’s manager said the episode lasted about 30 minutes.

A Hai Chau ward official put the damage to the business at about VND500 million (US$19,000). The belongings of five customers, including laptops and mobile phones, one of them a MacBook, were destroyed, with losses estimated at about VND70 million ($2,700).

“Seeing the visitor causing a disturbance, many customers ran outside without time to take their belongings, which were destroyed,” the official said.

Videos filmed by witnesses circulated widely on social media, showing the shirtless man hurling and breaking items as customers scrambled out.

The footage drew a crowd of onlookers to Le Hong Phong as the scene unfolded.

The café announced it would close for several days to clear the debris, repair the damage and assist the investigation.

By midday on May 30, staff were still sweeping up broken glass while officers worked with the owner to tally losses and take statements. The man remained in temporary detention for questioning, and police said the investigation was continuing.

Le Hong Phong is a central thoroughfare running from a densely populated neighborhood down to the Han River in Da Nang, one of Vietnam’s most popular destinations for foreign tourists.

The café sits directly opposite the headquarters of the Hai Chau Ward People’s Committee.

Glass at a café in Da Nang shattered by an Australian man, with staff still sweeping up by midday on May 30, 2026. Photo by Read/Ngoc Truong