Left inset: Jacob Smith in hospital (KXTV/YouTube). Right inset: Jalani Bluett (Sutter County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Jacob Smith working at the McDonald’s in California where he was allegedly targeted in a hot oil attack (GoFundMe).
A shocking incident unfolded at a McDonald’s in California, where an employee threw boiling hot oil at his 20-year-old manager, inflicting severe burns on his face and body, according to police and family reports.
Following the May 30 assault, Jacob Smith questioned his mother, “Why would he do this to me?” as recounted in a GoFundMe page she established.
The fundraising page describes how “Jacob was on his shift at McDonald’s, a company he has served faithfully for several years. What started as a routine workday turned into a horrific ordeal when a colleague attacked him with hot oil.”
Smith, employed at the Yuba City McDonald’s, sustained third-degree burns on his face, arms, and shoulders from the incident.
“He was in the office, preparing to count money, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. As he turned, the hot oil was hurled at him,” Jacob’s mother, Amber Smith, explained to local NBC station KCRA.
Local cops arrested worker Jalani Bluett, 23, and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm, mayhem, and battery causing serious bodily injury. Police have not released a motive.
“I want justice to be served,” Amber Smith said. “I want him to serve the time he needs to serve for what he’s done to my son. I mean, I don’t wish bad things towards him. I just want him to understand that what he did — really understand what he did — and the pain that he caused to my son is excruciating.”
Smith is scheduled to undergo surgery next week. Bluett appeared in court last Wednesday and pleaded not guilty, according to The Sacramento Bee. He is being held without bail.