An angry McDonald’s customer in Boston, Massachusetts, was arrested after assaulting an employee on Saturday evening for touching the lid on his drink without gloves.
According to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police (MBTA), the incident occurred around 7 p.m. at the South Station transit depot when Odair Andrade punched the fast food employee “several times.”
2/24 7PM #MBTA South Station TPD Offs arrested a 34y/o male after he attacked a McDonald's employee striking him several times w/fists & register. The SP became upset when the employee touched the lid of his drink. SP transported to TPDHQ for booking. V treated on scene.
— MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) February 25, 2024
The 34-year-old was so enraged that he even assaulted the employee with the cash register, according to NBC Boston.
Joshua Venter witnessed the incident while walking through South Station and described being shocked by what he saw.
“We heard a loud commotion,” said Joshua Venter. “He was closed fists punching the guy.”
“We were surprised by what we were seeing,” he continued. “I’m going to be very careful coming here.”
While police arrested Andrade and booked him, the employee was treated for his injuries at the scene.
Andrade is expected to attend court later on Monday and faces charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property.
No other details about the assault have been released yet.
Many residents reported that the downtown transit area has a lot of safety concerns that need to be addressed.
“I’m always concerned about my safety. There’s a lot of homelessness going on,” said Shabazz Allah. “You got a lot of mental health issues going on with people too.”
There have been two unprovoked assaults in the last month, according to MBTA Transit Police.
Unfortunately, being a fast food worker has become a dangerous job in recent years.
Last December, a group of customers ran into the restaurant and attacked the employees of an Oklahoma McDonald’s after one of them threw a drink at the drive-thru employee.
The group said they were frustrated by the service.
Another employee was attacked late last November with a hammer in Virginia after he refused to give the customer free food.
McDonald’s has a policy requiring every employee working with food preparation to wash their hands at least every hour, according to the fast food chain giant’s policy.
It is unknown if there are regulations involving the handling of food containers.
