Inset: Jahzir Collins (Milwaukee Police Department). Background: The McDonald’s where a shooting occurred in Milwaukee, Wis. (Google Maps).
Authorities in Wisconsin are on the lookout for a man linked to a shooting at a McDonald’s, sparked by a disagreement over beverages, according to police in the Badger State.
Jahzir Collins, 18, is facing multiple serious charges, including four felony counts of recklessly endangering safety as a party to a crime. He also faces one count of reckless use of a firearm and two counts of bail jumping, all noted in connection with this incident.
The incident unfolded in mid-June at a McDonald’s located on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, as reported by law enforcement.
On June 17, video surveillance captured Collins entering the fast-food restaurant alongside two other men and two women. This information was presented in a criminal complaint obtained by ABC affiliate WISN, based in Milwaukee.
In the footage, Collins speaks with an employee about two caramel Frappes, police said. The employee exits the video frame before returning with the drinks in hand and throwing them in the trash. After that, the footage shows the employee telling the group he will not give them their drinks. In turn, Collins appears to get angry and allegedly tells the employee to “come outside,” according to the complaint.
The group of five then makes its way toward the door, the footage allegedly shows. The employee is seen following behind. Then, security camera footage from the parking lot shows Collins and his group standing outside. As the employee is seen coming out the door, Collins looks toward the worker while holding a gun and yells: “Pop ’em, pop ’em, pop his a—,” according to the charging document.
Immediately afterward, a man with Collins pulls out a gun, points it at the door, and fires several rounds, the footage allegedly shows. The torrent of gunfire left the door shattered and led the customers inside to scatter, police said. Ultimately, four people were injured in the shooting – including the employee. Investigators found nine bullet casings in 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.