McDonald’s Employee Shoots Man in the Neck After Complaints About Wait Time in the Drive-Thru: ‘It Was Just a McMess’

Authorities are calling a shooting at a Florida McDonald’s a complete “McMess” after an overnight altercation between an employee and two customers ended in gunfire.

According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the incident took place around 3 a.m. on Oct. 12 at a McDonald’s in Davenport. In a video statement released Friday, Oct. 17, Judd explained that the dispute began when 21-year-old employee Yoan Soto was working an overnight shift and two late-night customers became upset about the wait time in the drive-thru line.

Judd said the restaurant sometimes gets “overwhelmed” with online orders, and the staff were “doing their best to keep up.” When Peter Story, 19, and Nicholas Jones, 18, arrived, Soto reportedly apologized, explaining that they were “way behind” and even suggested that McDonald’s “should think through” its ordering system.

Despite his apology, the two men allegedly began threatening Soto, telling him they would wait until his shift ended to attack him, according to Judd.

“They threatened to attack the man who just told them, ‘We’re busy, we can’t take anymore orders,’ and he did that because the [employee] told him to,” Judd said.

Instead of backing down, Soto told them his shift would end at 4 a.m. Surveillance footage obtained by Fox 13 reportedly shows the confrontation continuing inside the McDonald’s lobby, where Soto can be seen pointing a firearm at the pair after they allegedly continued to threaten him with what Judd described as a “switch” and a “30-clip.”

“Now, the 22-year-old [employee] steps between them trying to stop this kerfuffle from occurring because there’s a rattle afoot right now in McDonald’s — we can call it a ‘McRattle,’ and that’s not a sandwich,” Judd said.

In the footage, Judd said, the situation escalated when Story and Jones allegedly tried to grab Soto’s gun. “As they try to grab his gun, [Soto] pulls the trigger, and he shoots Peter Story in the neck,” Judd explained. The injury was described as minor.

“It’s a blessing that it was a very minor wound, but you know what? When you start shooting McGuns, you get people’s McAttention,” Judd added.

After the gunshot, Story and Jones reportedly fled the scene. Soto also left, with Judd noting that he became “McScared,” picked up the shell casings, and ran.

Authorities later charged Soto with tampering with evidence, a felony. Story and Jones were charged with trespass after warning and disorderly conduct.

Judd emphasized that Soto appeared to act out of fear but cautioned others not to flee after a shooting. “He has a right to stand his ground and protect himself, and these guys are threatening to do violence after they’ve already threatened on the outside of the store and came inside,” the sheriff said. “They created a well-founded fear in him and the store [employee]. It was just a McMess, but we’ll sort it out because we are McGood at investigating McCrime.”