Shooting over closed McDonald's dining room signals 'tension about opening,' CEO says of COVID-19

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday May 07, 2020 · 10:14 AM PDT

2020/05/07 · 10:14

A sign hangs in the window of a McDonald's restaurant announcing it is temporarily closed on April 30, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. — A sign hangs in the window of a McDonald's restaurant announcing it is temporarily closed on April 30 in Chicago.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski spoke out after a woman in Oklahoma City was arrested on charges she shot at least three workers, including two 16-year-olds, Wednesday because she couldn’t dine in at the restaurant. Kempczinski told Good Morning America Thursday the restaurant’s dining room was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. He called the shooting a “heinous crime,” but said the employees are expected to recover fully.

The incident started when an employee told the woman later identified as Gloricia Woody that all the restaurant's dining rooms are closed. Woody allegedly responded by refusing to leave and getting into a fight with an employee before ultimately exiting the location and returning with a handgun, KFOR-TV reported. She allegedly fired about three rounds and hit one worker in the arm. Shrapnel injured another employee in the neck or shoulder area and a third employee in the side, KFOR reported.

MCDONALDÃ¢ÂÂS SHOOTER MUG: This is 32-year-old Gloricia Woody. SheÃ¢ÂÂs behind bars following the shooting inside the SW OKC McDonaldÃ¢ÂÂs yesterday. Ã¢Â¬ÂÃ¯Â¸ÂÃ¢Â¤ÂµÃ¯Â¸Â @kfor pic.twitter.com/q35kqIELOh
— Jessica Bruno (@JbrunoKFOR) May 7, 2020

“I think what you’re seeing in this situation is really what you’re seeing in a variety of situations across the country, which is this tension about opening and people’s concern about it,” Kempczinski said, “but there’s absolutely no excuse for violence, particularly gun violence, so I’m just happy that our people are going to be okay.”

McDonaldÃ¢ÂÂs CEO Chris Kempczinski responds to a shooting at an Oklahoma restaurant, speaks out about food shortage fears and updates on how the chain is keeping workers and customers safe. https://t.co/6RKnQpJNSS pic.twitter.com/F3G5ja54h4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 7, 2020

This isn’t the only incident in which a social distancing rule ended in violence. Calvin Munerlyn, a security guard in Flint, Michigan, was shot and killed allegedly because he asked a woman to wear a mask before entering a Family Dollar store, in keeping with the state's social distancing order. Calvin’s mother, Bernadett Munerlyn, begged the public to just respect the order, a local news company reported. “Just stay home,” she said. “If you don’t have to come out, then you wouldn’t need a mask unless you’re out getting groceries or necessities. All my baby was doing was his job, working and doing his job.”

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