Preparedness
Fast Food Fury: Florida McDonald’s Employee Shoots at Enraged Customer
In the early morning hours of a recent Friday, an unfortunate incident involving a McDonald’s employee and a customer occurred in Lakeland, Florida. According to the local police, a customer became angry over an error in their meal order, which escalated into a heated argument that eventually led to the employee allegedly firing a gun at the customer.
This all unfolded around 1 a.m. at a McDonald’s on East Memorial Drive in Lakeland. The Lakeland Police Department detailed the incident in a release on Monday. The situation seemed to spiral out of control when the customers attempted to leave, leading the worker to throw a drink at them.
The customers retaliated by forcing open the drive-thru window and began to fling cups onto the restaurant’s floor. The McDonald’s employee, a 22-year-old female, reappeared with a firearm and was then met with a drink thrown through the window by one of the customers.
“She then proceeded to confront the customers outside,” the police report stated. As the customers attempted to flee in their vehicle, the armed employee fired at the car, striking it at least once. This act was caught on the restaurant’s surveillance camera.
The altercation’s surveillance footage was later obtained and made public by WOFL-TV on its YouTube channel.
The involved McDonald’s worker, identified as 22-year-old Chassidy Gardner, was subsequently arrested. She was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Polk County Jail records indicate that Gardner was released on a $15,000 bond.
Retired Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon shared his thoughts with WOFL, expressing concern over the increasing frequency of such incidents.
“It’s unfortunate because once you fire that round, that round has no mercy. Wherever that round is going, whatever it strikes, it’s going to damage it or kill it,” Rolon stated. “It was totally uncalled-for and unjustified for her to pull the gun on a customer through the drive-through, regardless of what the situation was, unless there was a risk of great bodily harm that was going to be brought on to her, or there is a situation where someone was engaging in some activity that could result in bodily harm.”
He further expressed his surprise that the employee was armed while on duty at a family-friendly establishment. “I’m shocked that she had a weapon of that sort in a place such as a McDonald’s as an employee,” Rolon concluded.
Lakeland, the city where this unfortunate incident occurred, is home to roughly 120,000 residents and is situated approximately 35 miles from Tampa.
Watch a local news report about the incident below:
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Delphos Speaks
July 7, 2024 at 11:18 am
Employees should be trained in methods to de-escalate situations. To many times, it is the customer’s poor attitude about an order that creates tension. And the employees should do what they can to correct the order with a friendly smile. As they say, you can win the battle and lose the war. In the other hand, sometimes a customer is inebriated that late at night and cannot be dealt with. But the gun should not have been involved over a drink thrown through a window.
Steve Carson
July 7, 2024 at 11:19 am
Clearly there is a need for anger management class.
Dennis
July 7, 2024 at 11:19 am
She should be charge with murder. The victim had no weapon so she can’t pled self defense! She had no legal right to have of shoot anything. If she get anything less you can tell the democrats some people are above the law. If she had been white she would be still setting in jail or have a much higher bail
Murder is murder and no one is above murder!!!
Pena
July 7, 2024 at 3:01 pm
She was never in danger. Emotions and tempers out of control but doesn’t justify the use of a weapon. The customers were driving away when shot.
Beartoe
July 7, 2024 at 4:38 pm
Old Proverb……. You can take the monkey outta the jungle but you never take the jungle outta the monkey
Marla Summers
July 7, 2024 at 7:50 pm
Well I guess she is Mcfired now! Uncalled for.
Robert Schrader
July 7, 2024 at 9:42 pm
John Q public is the dumbest animal out there.What was the sobriety of the occupants of the vehicle in the drive thru,also where any of occupants charged with anything like assault, battery,or malicious mischief??????
Kirk Ellsworth
July 7, 2024 at 9:45 pm
Retired Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon never heard of the robbery/mass murder at a Brown’s chicken in Palatine, Illinois on January 8, 1993? My roommate had worked there, but I had gotten her a job at a Denny’s a few days before that happened. If they had been armed there’s a good chance they’d still be alive.
Leola Clarry
July 7, 2024 at 11:35 pm
She didn’t know if the person had a gun or not so she did what anyone would do, she could have been hurt.
Leola Clarry
July 7, 2024 at 11:45 pm
I have seen where people were hurt by someone using a gun some were killed and still nothing is being done about it. that person is still walking the streets, and this person was taken to court for what she did. Not Right.
David Campbell
July 9, 2024 at 10:22 pm
Don’t know why the retired police cheif is surprised that an employee that works late into the night is armed; seems prudent to me. It is unfortunate that people get so out of control over a fast food order. Anyway, the shooting was not justified, the threat to the worker never escalated to the level of justifying lethal force. Now if the customer had actually forced his way through the window and started to enter the workspace, the employee, being a woman, might then have been justified.
P.S. I did not vote in the pole as the questions don’t seem to match the situation.