Inset: Jahzir Collins (Milwaukee Police Department). Background: The Milwaukee, Wis., McDonald’s where the shooting took place (Google Maps).
Authorities in Wisconsin are searching for a man accused of being involved in a shooting at a McDonald’s that police say began with a dispute over drinks.
Jahzir Collins, 18, is facing four felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety as a party to a crime, one count of reckless use of a firearm as a party to a crime, and two counts of bail jumping.
Police say the incident happened in mid-June at a McDonald’s restaurant on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee.
On June 17, Collins entered the restaurant with two men and two women, according to surveillance video described in a criminal complaint obtained by Milwaukee-based ABC affiliate WISN.
Investigators said the video shows Collins speaking with an employee about two caramel Frappes. The worker briefly leaves the frame, then returns holding the drinks and throws them into the trash. The employee is then seen telling the group he will not provide the drinks, after which Collins appears upset and allegedly tells the worker to “come outside,” the complaint says.
The five-person group then heads toward the exit, with the employee following behind, according to the footage. Outside, parking lot surveillance allegedly shows Collins and the others gathered near the entrance. As the worker steps out, Collins is seen holding a gun, looking toward the employee and yelling, “Pop ’em, pop ’em, pop his a—,” according to the charging document.
Moments later, a man who was with Collins allegedly pulls out a firearm, aims toward the doorway and fires multiple shots. Police said the gunfire shattered the door and sent customers inside scrambling. Four people were hurt, including the McDonald’s employee, and investigators recovered nine shell casings from the parking lot, according to the complaint.
Collins and the other men are seen running north on nearby Holton Avenue while the women are seen running south, police said.
During the ensuing investigation, police spoke with the manager of the McDonald’s who said she recognized the three men because they often come to the location to hang out – and sometimes order food, the complaint says. On the night in question, the trio ordered two caramel Frappes from a kiosk, the manager told police.
The manager began making the drinks until the eventually-injured employee told her to stop because one of the men was threatening to shoot the manager in the face, according to the complaint.
The employee also told the manager the three men were harassing a delivery driver picking up a mobile order. So, the manager returned to the front of the restaurant to issue a refund. While she was working on the refund, one man began making threats, police said.
The manager told investigators one of the men repeatedly grabbed a handgun in his waistband and that she heard him say the gun had a “switch” and that he was going to “Swiss cheese” the McDonald’s.
The repeat threats and brandishing of the gun are what prompted the employee to toss the beverages in the garbage and tell the men off, according to the charging document.
On June 22, a detective received an anonymous tip from someone who said they had seen the suspects at a certain location – as well as information on one suspect’s residence, the complaint says. Investigators then obtained surveillance footage purporting to show Collins wearing the same clothes as the night of the shooting.
The Milwaukee Police Department also released images culled from surveillance footage of two wanted individuals.
