A man in New York City was arrested Friday and accused of “menacing” customers at a McDonald’s, including using a small ax, police said.
A graphic video of the incident was published on TikTok. After it appeared to have been taken down, the video was reposted, and it circulated on Twitter, showing two minutes of the incident between the man and several patrons. 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 ax. He smashes the end of a table and shatters a glass barrier. He then approaches several patrons but does not appear to inflict any injury using the ax.
At the end of the video, after he punches a patron and approaches several others with the ax, the man appears to leave with his bicycle. Police said no victims reported any injuries.
A police spokesman told NBC’s "TODAY" show that police responded at about 2:25 a.m. at the McDonald’s on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side 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.