A man in New York City was arrested on Friday after “menacing” customers at a McDonald’s, which included using a small axe, according to police.
A graphic video of the incident was captured and published on TikTok. After seemingly being taken down, the video was reposted and circulated on Twitter, showing two minutes of the incident between the man and several patrons at the fast food chain. The video, with more than 14 million views, depicted several incidents, including a series of fights as well as destruction of property.
The man in the video appears to then remove his backpack and pull out what appears to be a small axe. With the axe, he smashed the end of a table at the location and shattered a glass barrier. He then approached several patrons with the axe, but did not appear to inflict any injury using the weapon.
At the end of the video, after punching a patron and approaching several others with the axe, the man appears to have left with his bicycle. According to police, no victims reported any injuries.
When sent the video, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department told TODAY police responded to the incident at approximately 2:25 a.m. at the McDonald’s, which was located on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
“Upon arrival of officers, witnesses at the location reported that the suspect got into a physical dispute with three unknown males inside of the location,” the spokesperson said. “The suspect removed an axe from his backpack and menaced the unknown males. The suspect intentionally caused property damage to the establishment. The individual was taken into custody by responding officers.”
Michael Palacios, 31, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” McDonald’s restaurant owner-operator Paul Hendel told TODAY in a statement. “We are shocked by these acts of violence committed in our restaurant, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation.”
Palacios’ attorney, Jamie Niskanen-Singer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.