A McDonald’s worker was arrested after she allegedly shot at a customer who was angry over a mix-up in their meal order, according to Florida police.
Lakeland Police said in a release on Monday that the incident unfolded at a McDonald’s on East Memorial Drive in Lakeland at about 1 a.m. on Friday.
‘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.’
The customers got into an argument with workers at the store over the mistake in their order, and video surveillance showed the worker throw a drink at them as they tried to leave, according to police.
The customers then forced open the drive-thru window and grabbed at cups to toss them at the floor.
The video shows the 22-year-old female worker appearing again after arming herself with a gun. At that point, one of the customers then throws a drink through the window.
That’s when the armed worker went outside to confront the customers. Police said she fired at the car as they drove away and struck it at least once. The video captured at least one of the gunshots.
Surveillance video of the altercation was obtained and published by WOFL-TV on its YouTube channel.
“Both parties were on-scene when officers arrived,” police said.
Police arrested the worker, who was identified as 22-year-old Chassidy Gardner, and charged her with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Jail records show that the worker was released on a $15,000 bond from the Polk County Jail.
Retired Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon told WOFL that those kinds of stories were becoming more commonplace.
‘It was totally uncalled-for and unjustified.’
“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,” said Rolon.
“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 added.
“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 is a city of about 120k residents that is located about 35 miles away from Tampa.
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