A Utah man is facing criminal charges for allegedly encouraging his 4-year-old child to shoot at police after he received the wrong order at a McDonald’s drive-thru.
via People:
In a news release from the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, authorities say the man, whose identity has not revealed to the public, received an “incorrect” order at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, allegedly prompting him to “brandish” a weapon at employees.
“The employees asked the male to pull to the front of the store while they corrected the order. At the time, they called 911 and the Unified Police responded,” the release states.
When police arrived on the scene, the man was asked by officers to get out of his vehicle, however, “he did not cooperate.” Police then “pulled the male from the car.”
As the man was being taken into custody, an officer on the scene “turned back toward the vehicle and saw a gun point out from the rear view window.” A round was fired from the gun, but before police could return fire, the officer realized the shooter was a child, and yelled out “kid,” causing the other responding officials to stand down, according to the release. The officer, who first noticed the child, sustained an arm injury. No other injuries were reported.
Police say the child was in the backseat with a three-year-old sibling. Upon further investigation, police say the father allegedly told the child to shoot at police.
“Information collected during this ongoing investigation indicates that the father of the child told the child to shoot at police,” added police.
“This is a sad day for law enforcement and our community. To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a four-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in the release.
“This needs to stop, and we need to come together as a community to find solutions to the challenges we face in our neighborhoods. Officers are here to protect and serve and we are beyond belief that something like this could happen.”
UPD Sgt. Melody Cutler said the father is facing charges of “felony child abuse” and “threatening with the use of a dangerous weapon” while he remains in police custody, CNN reported.
Well, we certainly know someone who is NOT getting ‘Father of the Year.’
