A brave dad armed with a pistol stopped what could have been a mass shooting inside an Alabama McDonald’s. READ MORE
SOURCE: FoxNews
Last Saturday the unidentified father was leaving the establishment with his sons when a masked man walked into the Birmingham fast-food restaurant and started shooting, WBRC-TV reported. The father returned fire and, during the ensuing shootout, the gunman, the father and one of the man’s teenage sons were struck, according to the station.
The gunman, who was not identified, later died of his injuries. The other two injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Markus Washington, one of the McDonald’s employees, told WBRC-TV he was making two quarter-pounders when bullets started to fly. Washington said he ran into the freezer, where he heard about 15 shots fired. “I’m feeling grateful,” he told the station. “Wrapping my head around it all, I was just wishing someone would come wake me up from this nightmare.”
Washington feared the worst as the shootout unfolded outside the freezer door.
“All we hear is like different gunfire, so in my mind, I’m imagining everybody is dead. He’s looking for us,” he said. Washington added he was thankful the armed customer was there. “He’s my hero. Because I can only imagine how it would’ve went if he wasn’t armed. We might not be here having this interview,” Washington said.
The father is not expected to face charges, police said.
Authorities are now working to determine if the gunman intended to rob the restaurant, was targeting an employee or planned something more nefarious.
“Things like this are difficult for both families. The gentleman who unfortunately lost his life, the teenage boy who is in the hospital recovering from his injuries and the father who is also recovering from his injuries,” Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Bryan Shelton said, according to WVTM-13. “It’s not easy being a father and watching your child get injured, get hurt like that. It’s a really heartwrenching experience.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Interestingly enough, here’s a short excerpt from a 2013 Business Insider story regarding McDonald’s policy on concealed carry. Following an announcement from Starbucks denouncing and disallowing legal concealed carry, both McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts supported “adhering to local, state, and federal laws.”
McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa McComb gave Business Insider this statement:
“We recognize that there is a lot of emotion and passion surrounding the issue of firearms and open carry weapons laws.
While we respect the differing views of all our customers, McDonald’s company-owned restaurants follow local, state and federal laws as it relates to open carry weapons in our restaurants.
For franchisee-owned restaurants, operational decisions regarding open carry weapon laws are made by the independent franchisee.
That said, as with all aspects of operating a McDonald’s restaurant, we expect our franchisees and their crew to follow local, state and federal laws.”
In contrast, Starbucks issued a statement that said:
Pro-gun activists have used our stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called “Starbucks Appreciation Days” that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of “open carry.” To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores. Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners. For these reasons, today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas — even in states where “open carry” is permitted — unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.
Where will you buy your coffee?
