A Taco Bell worker in Florida was arrested earlier this week after allegedly shooting at customers during a dispute over a drink.
The incident occurred just before noon on Monday at the Taco Bell on 45th Street in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to a probable cause affidavit viewed by NTD. Two women had entered the restaurant and asked an employee, identified in court filings as 20-year-old D'mari Patterson, for a cup of water.
Patterson gave the women a cup of water, and one of them walked over to the soda machine, at which point Patterson confronted the pair about "filling the water cup with product from the soda fountain," the court filing reads. Patterson and the women began arguing when a third woman in their group walked into the Taco Bell.
One of the women appears to walk out of the restaurant before returning and confronting Patterson off-camera. Patterson can then be heard repeatedly yelling, "do something, do something," before appearing to draw a firearm and rack it.
"The sound of the slide of a firearm being racked is clearly audible," the affidavit reads. "Patterson suddenly swings his right hand/arm at [the woman], and a single gunshot is plainly heard."
According to court documents, the woman got up after being knocked to the floor and ran out of the restaurant as "Patterson charged out immediately behind." One of the other women had also exited and was cowering between the door and an exterior wall when Patterson allegedly fired an additional round in her direction, the filing states.
"[The bullet] narrowly missed the victim and instead struck the restaurant window—breaking the glass and damaging the window's frame," the affidavit reads.
A representative for Taco Bell could not immediately be reached for comment. NTD reached out to Patterson's attorney, Marc Shiner, but a response was not received by publication time. However, Shiner told WPBF 25 News that Patterson called the police after the altercation and told officials he had been acting in self-defense.