BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A father shot and killed a masked gunman who opened fire inside an Alabama McDonald’s over the weekend.
According to WBRC, the shooting happened late Saturday night as the business was getting ready to close. A masked man entered the restaurant when an employee opened the door so a father and his sons could leave.
The gunman then opened fire inside the restaurant; the father shot back. Police said the gunman died in the exchange.
Bullets struck both the father and one of his sons, but their wounds were not life-threatening, police said.
Investigators said it’s unclear if the gunman intended to rob the store or planned to target an employee who worked there. Police said the father wouldn’t face charges since the shooting appeared to be in self-defense.
McDonald’s employee Markus Washington told WBRC that he and another worker hid in a freezer when the shooting started. He recounted hearing more than a dozen gunshots during the exchange.
Washington said he was busy making Quarter-Pounders when he heard the first shots. He and another worker sought refuge in the freezer and feared the gunman was looking for them.
“He’s my hero,” Washington told WBRC. “Because I can only imagine how it would’ve gone if he wasn’t armed. We might not be here having this interview.”
