Just another day in New York City.
On Friday, September 16, 2022, a man was arrested for causing mayhem in a public place. The incident, which happened at a Delancey Street McDonald’s, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, was videoed by witnesses. In the video, a man is seen arguing with other diners at the restaurant.
Seconds later, a fight broke out between 31-year-old Michael Palacios, and several other people who can be seen attacking him in the video and pushing him against a garbage can.
Palacios, who did not punch back, was patient enough to wait until the punches stopped. He then paced around the fast-food restaurant, took his backpack off, pulled out an axe from the bag, and wielded it in the air, threatening everyone close to him.
Palacios, angry and with a score to settle, started to use his axe to hit and destroy furniture, causing monetary damages in the thousands. He smashed several tables into small pieces and used the axe to hit a glass panel, which shattered immediately.
He did not spare the people he had been in a fight with earlier either. Palacios threatened them by shoving the axe into their faces, but he did not hit them. Those surrounding him tried to calm him down and you can hear one man telling him to ‘please chill.’
It was evident that Palacios was fired up as he continued to smash tables, but after a short while, he took his bag and his bicycle and walked out of the restaurant.
According to the NYPD, nobody was hurt, and Palacios has been charged with criminal mischief, criminal possession of a weapon, and menacing.
The fight was just the latest incident at McDonald’s restaurants in New York City. Two months ago, a McDonald’s worker was pepper sprayed in an attempted robbery in Brooklyn.
Another McDonald’s worker was shot in August in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, when a fight broke out over cold French fries.
New York residents continue to grow weary from the upsurge in violent crimes on the streets and the criminal activities, altercations, and looting happening all over neighborhoods in the city. Despite New York City Mayor Eric Adam’s continued efforts to crack down on crime in the city, the crime rate in NYC is up by almost 40% from last year.
Mayor Adam’s numerous attempts to take down homeless encampments are seemingly in vain, as homelessness is consistently rising. The city is filled with drug addicts and some parts of the city have become very popular drug dens. Children in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood have allegedly become exposed to sex, nudity, and drug abuse, and businesses in the area continue to deal with break-ins.
Jamel Pringle, a notorious NYC criminal with 167 arrests on his record, was notably denied bail when appearing in court after being caught stealing items worth $450 from a Rite Aid on the Upper East Side.
In August, a gang of seven men entered Lululemon on West 14th Street and 9th Avenue with empty carts and laundry bags and walked out of the store with $30,000 worth of gear.
