2 McDonald’s Employees Shot Over Coronavirus Policy, Police Say

Two McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City were shot by a customer who reportedly became angry when the employees told her she could not eat inside the restaurant due to policies in place meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Oklahoma police initially said there were two suspects, but later found there was only one woman involved and she is now in custody. Both employees suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police were called to the McDonald’s near Southwest 89th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue at around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, reports KOCO. The suspect went into the restaurant and was told the dining area was closed, police said. The employees asked the woman to leave, but she refused. According to police, the confrontation became physical between the suspect and one of the employees.

The employees forced the woman out of the restaurant, police said. The suspect came back in with a handgun and fired three rounds into the building, according to police. One of the employees was shot in the arm and the second was hit with shrapnel in the neck and shoulder area. A third employee was also hit by shrapnel in the side. The employee who got into a physical altercation with the woman suffered a head injury, although police did not say how this happened. Three of the employees were taken to a hospital and all injuries were found to be non-life-threatening.

Police identified the suspect as Gloricia Woody, 32. She was found a few blocks away from the McDonald’s and surrendered to police without incident. Police told KOCO they obtained surveillance footage, which appeared to show Woody and the incident.

“The safety and security of our employees and customers is our top priority,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those involved, and the good news is that we can report the employees who sustained injuries are expected to make a full recovery. This is a heinous crime on our restaurant employees who were trying to support public health efforts. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue to investigate this matter.”

This is not the only case of violence linked to coronavirus policies. On Friday, Family Dollar security guard Calvin Munerlyn was shot and killed at a Flint, Michigan store after he enforced the store’s face mask policy. Munerlyn got into a dispute with Sharmel Teague, who was at the store with her daughter, who was not wearing a face mask. Police said Teague left the store and called Larry Teague, her husband. About 20 minutes later, Larry Teague and Teague’s son Ramonyea Bishop, arrived at the store to confront Munerlyn. During the confrontation, Bishop allegedly shot and killed Munerlyn. Police are still searching for Bishop and Larry Treague. On Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals joined the search, reports WJRT.