Fight over fries at Ga. McDonald’s ends in gunfire, arrest

GARDEN CITY, Ga. (WTOC) - A Georgia woman is in custody after the owner of a McDonald’s in Garden City said she fired a gun inside the restaurant.

The restaurant owner says the woman left with her order and then came back, saying the fries were cold. According to the owner, as the manager went to get new fries, the woman went into the kitchen and fired a shot into the floor.

The owner says he gave the woman a refund and she left.

Police arrived at the scene at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday and learned the woman had left. They stopped Lillian Tarver’s car on Liberty Parkway and took her into custody without incident.

An employee at the McDonald’s tells WTOC there was a full fledged brawl in the kitchen before the shot was ever fired.

“This is serious, and I need to find a way to get out of it. Like, I need to find a way to get out and be alive," said Lynn Watson.

That’s what went through Watson’s mind when Tarver pulled a gun over sub-par fries.

“Basically kept going back and forth with me, and she took her drink and threw it at me and the manager, and then proceeded to come behind the counter," Watson recalled.

Watson says their fighting words turned into actual fighting. She says she was playing defense because it wasn’t just her inside the store.

“We were physically fighting because I had to grab her because she was putting up a set like this, and I had to seize my moment when I knew I could. When she bent down, I grabbed her hair and just started slinging her across the floor," Watson said.

Watson says Tarver left and went to her car. When she came back, she had a gun in her hands.

“Then, we were in the back of the store. She came to the back of the store walking like, you know, she was ready to shoot.”

Watson says despite no one being hurt, she still does not feel safe working there anymore.

“I fear for my life, and my family fears for my life.”

Watson says she’s not the only employee shaken up after the aggressive order. She says teenagers working summer jobs were inside, too.

Right now, Watson says she is trying to transfer to a different location.

We tried following up with the owner Tuesday regarding the fight and Watson’s transfer - both of which he didn’t mention on Monday - but we are still waiting to hear back from him.

As for Lillian Tarver, police arrested her on Liberty Parkway after she left McDonald’s. She is facing charges of aggravated assault and battery.