A 4-year-old boy fired a gun at police officers on his father’s instructions during a dispute over a food order at a drive-thru at a McDonald’s branch in Utah on Monday, authorities said.
4-year-old boy shoots cop at McDonald’s drive-thru on his father’s orders in Utah
The shooting took place at a McDonald’s in Midvale, outside Salt Lake City, when a man pointed a gun at fast-food workers during an argument over their order, the Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department released.
The adult man, with two children in the back seat, stopped and waited for workers to fix a problem with his order, however, employees called police, KUTV reported.
Officers arrived and were able to remove the man from the vehicle, who was not cooperating with them.
While detaining him, police said the father ordered the boy, who was still in the vehicle, to shoot at the officers. Police officers said they saw a small arm and a hand holding a gun from inside the vehicle’s door.
A police officer managed to strike the gun as a child fired it, forcing the bullet to strike the restaurant’s awning.
No one was seriously injured in the incident, although the officer who struck the gun received a minor arm injury, Fox 13 reported.
The man, whose identity was not released by police, was taken into custody. Officials have not announced what charges the subject will face.
It is unclear if the child was released to the custody of a guardian or if the Utah Division of Children and Family Services responded to a call from authorities, according to KUTV.
Authorities have not released the age of the other child or his relationship to the man.
