What started as a routine shift at a McDonald’s in southern Illinois ended in gunfire, bloodshed, and felony charges—after a teenage worker refused to take out the trash.

According to Belleville police, 44-year-old Kathy Bledsoe, a manager at the McDonald’s on Carlyle Avenue, asked a young employee to haul garbage to the dumpster on July 16. The girl refused. That simple act of defiance triggered a chain reaction of chaos.

Bledsoe allegedly told the girl to clock out and leave. Instead, the teen called her mother, 35-year-old Tynika McKinzie. Within minutes, McKinzie stormed into the restaurant with another unidentified young woman. According to surveillance footage and witness reports, the pair caused a disturbance at the front counter before charging behind it—straight into the manager’s office.

That’s where things exploded.

Police say McKinzie began beating Bledsoe in the face and head. In the struggle, Bledsoe pulled a handgun and shot McKinzie in the leg.

The scene turned into a crime scene.

“I thought it was just another fight,” one customer told a local news crew. “Then I saw blood.”

McKinzie was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Bledsoe was arrested at the scene. She was later released from St. Clair County Jail and now awaits a preliminary hearing on August 1.

Her attorney, Patrick Sullivan, issued a statement defending her actions: “Ms. Bledsoe acted purely in self-defense after being attacked inside her place of work. She was terrified, cornered, and injured. She did what she had to do.

Prosecutors apparently saw enough evidence to file charges on both women. Bledsoe faces one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. McKinzie, who is still recovering from the gunshot wound, has been charged with aggravated battery and mob action.

“People seem quicker than ever to settle their disputes with fists—or worse, firearms,” the Belleville Police Department posted on Facebook. “This entire situation could have been avoided.”

McDonald’s Responds to Second Violent Incident in One Week

This was not an isolated flare-up. Just six days earlier, a Michigan McDonald’s manager was fatally stabbed by her employee in another shocking act of workplace violence.

In Eastpointe, Michigan, 30-year-old Jennifer Harris reportedly sent home a 22-year-old worker, Afeni Badu Muhammad, during a heated disagreement. But Muhammad didn’t stay gone for long. Police say she returned with a knife and stabbed Harris to death inside the restaurant.

A customer in the drive-thru, who was legally carrying a firearm, tried to stop the murder by firing a warning shot. He then followed Muhammad to her car and held her at gunpoint until police arrived.


Muhammad is now charged with first-degree premeditated murder and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon.

Both incidents have ignited fresh concern about rising violence in the workplace—especially fast food chains, where tensions often run high and security is minimal.

With President Trump now entering his second year back in office, administration officials have pushed for harsher penalties on workplace violence and expanded Second Amendment protections for self-defense.

“This isn’t just about McDonald’s,” said conservative commentator Dan Reinhart on Newsmax. “It’s about the state of our culture—where disrespect, rage, and entitlement are turning ordinary disagreements into shootouts.”

Bledsoe remains out on bond. McKinzie’s court records have not yet been posted publicly.

No charges have been filed against the teenage employee.