A man who went viral on social media after his axe-wielding rampage at a New York City McDonald’s explained his behavior in an interview shared Sunday.
Footage of Michael Palacio went viral on Twitter and other social media platforms Friday, showing him getting into a physical altercation and then destroying a McDonald’s restaurant with what appears to be axe or hatchet. “[I] kinda waited until they finished doing whatever they were doing, and then I just did what I wanted to do,” Palacio told Eyewitness News.
Interview with the McDonald’s axe rampage guy in NYC. pic.twitter.com/xNx7VWSbKY
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 19, 2022
The start of the video shows Palacio being beaten by a group of men, before he calmly gets the hatchet from his backpack and goes on a rampage through the restaurant, destroying property, threatening customers, and slapping one of his alleged attackers.
“The most important thing is don’t be afraid to defend yourself,” he continued. Palacio told the outlet that things got heated at the location when a security guard ignored his request to use the bathroom. From here, apparently “words were exchanged with a customer” before things escalated to Palacio throwing a punch, Eyewitness News reported.
Palacio had been drinking prior to the altercation with three other men, the outlet noted. “My intentions were not to hurt anyone. My intentions were not to put anyone in the hospital or dice anybody up,” Palacio said in the report. “The reason why I pulled out the hatchet was, okay, I’m gonna get back at these guys, but I’m gonna make sure they don’t jump me again.” (RELATED: Tiny Human Dressed As Chuckie Gets Into Subway Fight In Terrifying Viral Video)
He told the outlet that he has no intention of pressing charges against his alleged attackers, but received a charge of criminal mischief, three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York Post.
