Background: Officers from the Memphis Police Department respond to a deadly shooting at a Wendy’s location in the city (WREG/YouTube). Inset: Darelle Bowers (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office).
A manager at a Wendy’s restaurant in Tennessee has been accused of shooting and killing another man following a confrontation at the fast-food establishment in Memphis.
Darelle Bowers, 37, has been charged with first-degree murder, according to court records. He is in the Shelby County Jail under no bond.
The altercation reportedly started on Monday when an employee wanted to leave her shift early. According to the Memphis Police Department, they were alerted to a disturbance at the restaurant on 7928 Winchester Road at around 5:20 p.m.
According to local NBC affiliate WMC, it was Bowers who made the call.
While officers were en route, further reports were received indicating that a shot had been fired and someone was injured, as reported by the outlet. Upon arrival, police discovered Stephen Shepard in the Wendy’s parking lot with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital, where he later passed away.
According to court documents, Bowers is accused of shooting Shepard. The suspect’s bail screening form states that he “shot and killed [the] victim during the altercation.”
The employee wishing to leave her shift early contacted Shepard to pick her up after Bowers allegedly threatened her, she reported to police, according to Fox affiliate WHBQ. After Shepard’s arrival, a fight ensued between the two men, and video on social media captured parts of the violent encounter.
Shepard can be seen throwing a punch at a man said to be Bowers before Bowers, clad in the classic red shirt worn by Wendy’s workers, appears to hold his two clasped-together hands in front of him shortly before a gunshot is heard. The man in red then walks over the gunshot victim and appears to slap him in the face. Shepard was reportedly unarmed.
“The person that got shot, he ended up swinging on the manager of the store, and the manager pulled out his gun and shot him. Well, he already had his gun in his hand,” a witness told WHBQ.
“When he first got shot, he was screaming,” the witness added of the shooting victim. “But after a minute, he just stopped moving.”
The victim and suspect knew each other, police said, according to CBS affiliate WREG. Bowers is said to have not resisted arrest and admitted to being the one who fired a shot.
Bowers is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Wendy’s of Tennessee told McClatchy News its restaurants “follow strict safety protocols, including de-escalation training, and we have a zero-tolerance policy on weapons.”
