A McDonald’s customer opened fire inside the fast food restaurant after he got into an argument with an employee, per Georgia authorities.
The DeKalb County Police Department (DCPD) said the man pulled out the gun at the outlet on Wesley Chapel Road on Monday.
According to the United States Department of Labor, there are hundreds of cases of workplace violence each year across the country. It defines workplace violence as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site.”
It added that of the 5,333 fatal workplace injuries that occurred in the U.S. in 2019, about 761 were cases of intentional injury by another person.
A DCPD spokesperson said in a statement shared Tuesday on Facebook: “The assault happened when a male got into an argument with one of the female workers, pointed a gun at her, and fired shots into the air.
“Officers responded and the suspect fled the location to a nearby acquaintance’s home. Officers set up a perimeter and were able to quickly talk him out of the residence.”
It continued: “Officers set up a perimeter and were able to quickly talk him out of the residence.”
Police said the suspect, who was not named at the time, was taken into custody without incident and added that a firearm was recovered.
A DCPD spokesperson later confirmed to Newsweek that the suspect’s name is Perry Webb and that he is charged with aggravated assault.
In May, a customer opened fire at a McDonald’s window in South Fulton, Georgia, on the same night that two 16-year-olds were shot at a nearby Taco Bell.
Police told Atlanta’s WSB-TV that they did not believe that the two shootings were in any way connected.
The person who allegedly fired the shots at the McDonald’s venue was a customer, according to the network.
In January, a McDonald’s customer shot an employee in St. Louis County, Missouri, after they got angry about a French-fry order, authorities said.
Following the initial dispute, the employee went out for a smoke break and the argument continued, Missouri news station KMOV reported per court documents. The customer, Terika Clay, 30, then allegedly hit the employee in the head with a gun before shooting.
Clay was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
In October 2020, a gunman fatally shot one person and left three more seriously injured after opening fire at a Mississippi McDonald’s drive-thru.
The shooting at the outlet in West Peace Street, Canton, and that the victims had been in a car at the drive-thru.
A second car then “came out of nowhere” and people inside opened fire, according to Canton Police Chief Otha Brown.
He said four people were shot multiple times and suffered bullet wounds to their chest, legs, and arms.
Medics arrived soon after and the three injured people were rushed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Update 9/29/22, 10:01 AM ET: The story has been updated with a confirmation of the suspect’s name from the DeKalb County Police Department.