‘Flip or Flop’ star Tarek El Moussa cited for battery after allegedly punching man in the head

From flipping houses to — flipping out?

Tarek El Moussa, the reality TV star known for shows like Flip or Flop and The Flip Off, was cited by police in Las Vegas last week after getting into a physical altercation with another man at the Venetian hotel and casino.

According to an incident report from the the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which Entertainment Weekly has reviewed, El Moussa was cited for battery in connection with the June 5 incident, after allegedly “pushing and using his right hand to punch” the man, whose name was redacted for privacy reasons, “in his head multiple times.”

El Moussa was not arrested and maintains that he was defending his elderly father in the confrontation. The HGTV star’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell EW in a statement, “Tarek intends to contest these allegations in a court of law where he will assert his right to self-defense and the defense of his elderly and infirmed father.”

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Per the incident report, police were called to the Palazzo at the Venetian about an altercation between two males. The alleged victim told police he was sitting at a roulette table when someone he did not know approached him “aggressively and hit him.” The man claimed he was unable to provide details like how many times he was hit or how, but told police he wanted to press charges.

El Moussa told authorities a different story. He claimed that the man hit his father on the back with his hand, so El Moussa got out of his chair to confront the man and protect his dad, who has back problems. El Moussa declined to speak to police further without a lawyer.

Surveillance footage obtained by police appears to indicate that El Moussa’s father, whose name was also redacted, was sitting at a roulette table that the alleged victim was standing next to. At one point, El Moussa’s father could be observed getting upset and turning around to glare at the man. It’s not clear from the footage what he was upset over, per the report, but “it appeared that [redacted] could have potentially bumped into his chair.”

El Moussa’s father reportedly continued his game until the other man could be seen touching his right shoulder, and words were exchanged. When El Moussa saw this, he “charged at [redacted] and shoved him, [redacted] shoved him back, and they both took a fighting stance. Then [redacted] appeared to go for a takedown at the legs of El Moussa. Due to the angle of the footage it is not certain but appeared that when [redacted went for] the takedown, he was struck with the knee of El Moussa, then fell to the floor, and El Moussa mounted his back and threw 3 more strikes with his fist to the head of [redacted] before getting up and walking away.”

Police observed that the man in question sustained purple and reddish bruising beneath his right eye, and a half-inch cut located on the bridge of the nose.

Representatives for HGTV didn’t immediately respond to EW’s request for comment Thursday.