A masked gunman who had brandished a firearm and opened fire inside an Alabama McDonald’s was shot dead by a father who was leaving the restaurant with his sons.
The situation took place late Saturday night, Oct. 27 in a Birmingham McDonald’s across the street from Princeton Hospital.
The masked man entered the restaurant when an employee opened a locked door so that the father and his sons could leave. Operating hours were over but the family had been inside eating.
The masked man started shooting inside. The father pulled out a gun he was carrying and began shooting at the masked man.
Police officers said that the father will not be facing charges at this time and noted they don’t know if the masked man was trying to rob the McDonald’s or target a worker there.
‘Grateful’
Markus Washington, a McDonald’s employee, said he hid in a freezer inside the store and heard more than 15 shots fired in the shootout between the masked man and the father.He said he was preparing burgers when he heard three shots ring out. McDonald’s and a co-worker ducked into a freezer to hide. When he heard all the shots fired, he thought everyone was dead.
After he learned what happened, he was thankful for the father.
“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.”
‘Heartwrenching’
The sequence of events left investigators trying to figure out what the motive for the masked man was. The gunman hasn’t been publicly identified.They also indicated that they had alerted the family of the gunman of the death.
“It’s not easy being a father and watching your child get injured, get hurt like that. It’s a really heartwrenching experience.”
