Angry Customer Opens Fire At Oklahoma McDonald's Over COVID-19 Restrictions

An enraged customer allegedly opened fire at a McDonald's restaurant in Oklahoma after employees told them the dining room was closed due to a COVID-19 protocol.

Authorities said the shooting happened around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday (May 6) following an argument between a female patron and a crew member of the fast-food chain.

As reported by ABC News, the female crew member informed the customer that the restaurant's dining room was off-limits due to social distancing, a preventive measure observed worldwide to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The infuriated customer then got into a “physical altercation” with the female employee. At some point during the altercation, the female employee was knocked down and her head was hit, Oklahoma City Police Department Captain Larry Withrow told the outlet.

The suspect then left the premises briefly and allegedly returned with a handgun. She then fired “two or three rounds,” hitting three McDonald's employees in the process. A male employee was struck in the arm, while another male employee was hit in the neck and shoulder in what police described to be a bullet shrapnel.

A third male employee sustained a wound on his side, also from the shrapnel. The female employee suffered a head injury caused by her fall, said Business Insider.

Following the shooting, the woman fled the restaurant on foot. Police were able to catch up with her a few blocks away and was arrested within minutes of the incident. The suspect's name was not immediately available. Withrow also pointed that earlier reports claiming that there were two suspects are “erroneous.”

The employees who were injured in the shooting were brought to a hospital for treatment. The female worker on the other hand was treated at the scene. All injuries were considered non-life threatening, Withrow added.

The incident came just days after a Family Dollar security guard was killed after telling a customer to wear a mask as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

43-year-old Calvin Munerlyn was shot after telling Sharmel Teague, one of the three charged suspects, that their daughter needed to wear a face mask to enter the store.

After a heated discussion, Teague left the store. Twenty minutes later, Teague's husband, Larry, and her son, Ramonyea Bishop, returned and confronted Munerlyn. Bishop then shot him in the back of the head.

Sharmel has since been arrested, while Larry and Ramonyea are still being sought. All three were charged with first-degree murder.