McDonald’s Sued Over the 2017 Fatal Shooting of Zachary Zumwalt

McDonald’s recently came under fire in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a man “fatally shot in the parking lot of a Springfield McDonald’s.” According to the suit, the death of the man, Zachary Zumwalt, was totally preventable and claims “McDonald’s is partially to blame for the fatal shooting.” But what happened? What led to Zumwalt’s death?

McDonald’s recently came under fire in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a man “fatally shot in the parking lot of a Springfield McDonald’s.” According to the suit, the death of the man, Zachary Zumwalt, was totally preventable and claims “McDonald’s is partially to blame for the fatal shooting.” But what happened? What led to Zumwalt’s death?

According to police, Zumwalt, who was 28-years-old at the time, “was not the intended target of a belligerent man who fired several shots at the West Kearney Street store early in the morning of Nov. 21.” Rather, Zumwalt was simply an innocent bystander. At the time of the shooting, Zumwalt was sitting in his parked car outside McDonald’s, using the restaurant’s Wi-Fi, “when a bullet ripped through his car and fatally struck him,” according to police reports.

According to reports, prior to the shooting, Richard Gaines, 27, and his girlfriend had attended a rap concert, then “drove to the McDonald’s, bringing along a bottle of brandy and a .45-caliber handgun.” While waiting for his food in the drive-thru, Gaines allegedly became “agitated with the staff at McDonald’s…and broke the bottle of brandy on the pavement.” That’s when McDonald’s staff called 911, prompting the couple to drive away. However, they didn’t make it far before Gaines told his girlfriend to stop the car. That’s when Gaines allegedly “climbed partly out of the window and fired several shots toward the McDonald’s.” Tragically, one of those shots hit Zumwalt, killing him.

As a result, the suit filed by Zumwalt’s mother alleges the fast food restaurant “mishandled the situation, leaving them partly to blame for Zumwalt’s death.” According to the suit, McDonald’s failed in many different ways, including the following:

• McDonald’s failed to adequately train its employees on how to interact with intoxicated customers
• McDonald’s failed to warn customers about the danger posed by Gaines
• McDonald’s staff attempted to stall Gaines and his girlfriend until police arrived, but that further agitated them, increasing the likelihood of a violent retaliation

Gaines was eventually arrested and charged with murder. Though his girlfriend later revealed to police that it was “not uncommon for Gaines to randomly shoot his gun while intoxicated.” For now, Gaines is being held in the Greene County Jail.

Listed in the lawsuit as defendants include Gaines and the “local owners of the McDonald’s.” So far, none of the defendants had formally responded to the allegations. A jury trial is expected to take place sometime in September 2019.

Sources:

McDonald’s sued over 2017 fatal shooting in Springfield

Police identify victim in deadly shooting in parking lot of Springfield McDonald’s