Terrifying footage shows McDonald’s staff cowering in kitchen during police stand-off with gunman barricaded inside the Florida restaurant
- Marlon Illescas, 41, barricaded himself in the McDonalds in Fort Myers, Florida
- After staff were evacuated, he was forced out by a SWAT team using tear gas
- The video has since gone viral with more than 26.6million views on TikTok
This is the terrifying moment McDonald’s staff cowered in the kitchen during a police stand-off with a gunman inside a Florida restaurant.
The video has gone viral with more than 26.6million views after it was posted on TikTok on December 4.
The footage shows employees in the Fort Myers diner shrieking in fear and hiding behind a cooler as a gunshot rings out.
This is the terrifying moment McDonald’s staff cower in the kitchen during a police stand-off with a gunman barricaded inside the restaurant in Fort Myers, Florida
The video has gone viral with more than 26.6million views after it was posted on TikTok on December 4
McDonald’s staff run out of the restaurant and across the car park to officers outside
One woman is seen comforting both her crying colleague and a youth, who appears to be a customer, standing pressed against the metal unit.
In the background of the shaky footage recorded by a man, police can be heard yelling ‘drop it’ and ‘hands up’ as they confront the gunman.
A male police officer shouts ‘he’s in the bathroom’ and then approaches the staff and directs them out of the restaurant to safety.
They run out of the McDonald’s and dash across the car park to officers.
One shouts: ‘Who’s in there still?’ The man filming responds: ‘A lot of people.’
The terrified staff and customers are then directed towards a nearby bank.
The video, titled ‘Tiroteo en McDonald’s’, which roughly translates as ‘shooting at McDonald’s’ appears to be from an active shooter incident on October 23.
The armed suspect, 41-year-old Marlon Illescas, barricaded himself in the building after an altercation with officers from the Fort Myers Police Department.
The Washington Newsday reported that he barricaded himself in the bathroom for two hours and spoke to police on the phone.
The remaining employees were evacuated and Illescas was driven out of the restaurant by a SWAT team using tear gas.
A police officer then approaches the staff and directs them out of the restaurant to safety
The video, titled ‘Shooting in McDonald’s’, is allegedly from an active shooter incident that took place on October 23
After the incident, Sheriff Carmine Marceno of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said: ‘You see this team? They’re heroes.
‘This is what law and order is about because today these men and women of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office prevented an active shooter.’
According to police, Illescas was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
He was later taken into custody and no one was injured in the altercation.
After watching the TikTok video one user commented: ‘He was super brave, always trying to control the situation and keep the other girl and the boy calm.
Another said: ‘That lady protecting both the little boy and her coworker deserves the world man.’
One said: ‘Does the USA have a gun issue? Yes.’