Disturbing video shows man with an ax ‘menacing' customers at New York McDonald’s
One man in New York City was arrested on Friday, Sept. 16 after “menacing” customers at a McDonald’s, which included using a small ax, according to police.
A graphic video of the incident was captured and published on TikTok. After seemingly being taken down, it was reposted and circulated on Twitter, which captured two minutes of the incident between the man and several patrons at the fast food chain. The video, which has so far amassed more than 14 million views, depicted several incidents, including a series of fights as well as destruction of property.
The man in the video appears to then remove his backpack and pulled out what appeared to be a small ax. With the ax, he smashed the end of a table at the location and shattered a glass barrier. He then approached several patrons with the ax, but did not appear to inflict any injury using the weapon, as seen in the video.
At the end of the video, after punching a patron and approaching several others with the ax, the man appears to have left with his bicycle. According to police, no victims reported any injuries.
When sent the video, a spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information told TODAY in a statement police responded to the incident at approximately 2:25 a.m. at the McDonald’s, which was located on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
“Upon arrival of officers, witnesses at the location reported that the suspect got into a physical dispute with three unknown males inside of the location,” DCPI said. “The suspect removed an ax from his backpack and menaced the unknown males. The suspect intentionally caused property damage to the establishment. The individual was taken into custody by responding officers. A search incident to a lawful arrest, an additional knife was recovered from his backpack.”
According to DCPI, 31-year-old Michael Palacios was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority," McDonald’s restaurant owner-operator Paul Hendel told TODAY in a statement. "We are shocked by these acts of violence committed in our restaurant, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation.”
According to the Manhattan’s District Attorney’s Office, Palacios' lawyer is Jamie Niskanen-Singer from Legal Aid. Attempts made by TODAY to contact Niskanen-Singer were unsuccessful.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
