FORT WORTH — Police say a malfunctioning gun appears to be what saved at least five people from being shot inside a south Fort Worth McDonald’s on Tuesday night. Just after 9 p.m., Fort Worth police say Jestin Joseph strolled into the restaurant and asked for a cup. Moments later, he can be seen on surveillance video whipping out a handgun and aiming it at employees and customers, including a father and son.
Police say the 24-year-old was pulling the trigger, but that fortunately, the gun didn’t actually discharge.
“I’ve never seen a video like this before,” Sgt. Joe Loughman said. “My gut feeling is that the city of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth police department avoided a major tragedy on Tuesday night.”
Loughman said that after initially entering the store, and trying to fire the weapon, Joseph walked outside and successfully fired off at least one shot.
He then can be seen re-entering the store and moving to the back, where employees and customers were hiding. But unbelievably, the gun again fails to discharge when he pulls the trigger.
“I would say he went in there intent to kill someone,” Loughman said.
Joseph was arrested down the street from the store a short time later. He is being held on a $500,000 bond and faces five charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
Police said there could be additional charges.
He has criminal past, including assault charges.
Court records indicate he served time behind bars, and was also sentenced to probation and anger management courses for past offenses.
“We are extremely grateful that no one was hurt during the situation that occurred on our property Tuesday evening,” McDonald’s USA said in a statement. “The safety of our customers and employees is extremely important, and we are fully cooperating with the police department in their ongoing investigation.”
The business is providing counseling to any employees that need it.
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