Chicago McDonald’s stabbing: Man stabs 3 people inside restaurant at Western and 79th after demanding free food, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) — Police said they are questioning a person of interest after a man stabbed three people at a McDonald’s restaurant on Chicago’s southwest side Sunday morning.

ABC7 cameras were present when officers arrested the man in front of the McDonald’s just hours after the attack.

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A 911 call was received from the fast food restaurant located along Western Avenue and 79th Street just before 8:30 a.m.

When first responders arrived, they found three people — two 45-year-old women and an 18-year-old man — with knife wounds inflicted by someone who police say attacked a cashier who refused their request for free food.

Boe Cannon is a regular McDonald’s customer.

“Yeah, I saw the axe. He had it right there in his pants.”

Cannon said he was across the street when the axe-wielding man approached him minutes before the attack.

“He asked me for a dollar for a coffee. I gave him a dollar and a Newport. He had the axe on him. But I didn’t know what he was going to do. Then I saw people coming out of McDonald’s screaming. Then he was walking down the street with the axe, eating a cookie. That’s what I saw,” Cannon said.

But that was not the end.

Police made no arrests immediately after the attack. But just an hour after officers finished interviewing employees and clearing the crime scene, patrol cars sped back down Western Avenue after receiving a report that the alleged assailant — seen wearing a red jacket — was at the CTA bus terminal across the street from McDonald’s.

Officers quickly arrested the man and took him away. ABC7 blurred his face because no charges have been filed.

“It’s crazy. They’re not picking on anybody. We go to that McDonald’s every day. You know what I mean? They’re all nice people in there,” Cannon said.

It is unclear whether the three injured are McDonald’s employees or not. At least one of the three people is in serious condition at Christ Hospital.

ABC7 reached out to McDonald’s for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Check back with ABC7 for a live report on this story at 5 p.m.

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