A father was arrested for allegedly telling his four-year-old son to shoot at police in a Utah McDonald’s drive-thru, the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake reported Monday.
The father visited the McDonald’s drive-thru in Midvale and reportedly brandished a gun at employees after he received the incorrect order Monday, according to a statement from the police. The employees called 911 while correcting the order, police also said.
When officers responded to the incident, they asked the man to get out of his car, but he wouldn’t, so they pulled him from it. One officer noticed a gun pointing out of the rear window at this time and realized the four-year-old was holding the gun, the police said. The officer notified the other officers that the child had a gun while “swiping the gun to the side as a round was fired,” according to police.
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Police said the four-year-old, who was in the backseat with his three-year-old sibling, was given the order to shoot at police by his father. They learned of the father’s alleged instructions while investigating the incident. (RELATED: Man Arrested Driving Stolen Ambulance In Fast Food Drive-Thru)
Sheriff Rosie Rivera reacted to the incident, noting it was a “sad day for law enforcement.”
“To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a four-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten,” she said.
The officer who swiped at the gun sustained minor injuries, police said. The department’s investigation of the incident is ongoing.
The suspect was identified as Sadaat Johnson, according to the New York Post. Utah social workers took custody of Johnson’s two children, the outlet also reported Tuesday.