Attacks on Food, Retail Workers Continue

New York, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – Continued attacks on food service and retail workers this past week, have left one dead and several others injured. 

In New York, a deli worker was stabbed to death, and his cousin injured, when a customer became violent after he was denied store credit. 

Police said 34-year-old Ahmed Almulaiki was serving a customer described as frequently disorderly, when the customer attacked him outside of K&B Gourmet Deli in East Harlem. 

NYPD Chief of Police James Essig said, Almulaiki was stabbed around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, after he denied the customer store credit. Almulaiki was stabbed in the torso and arm. After being taken to the hospital, Almulaiki died from his injuries. His cousin, who also worked at the deli, was also stabbed, but is expected to recover. 

In Bayonne, New Jersey, a man attacked a Burger King employee after he got upset his food order was delayed. 

According to police, a customer came to the drive thru window of the Burger King on East 53rd Street in Bayonne, to pick up his DoorDash food order. When the 27-year-old employee told him that the order wasn’t ready, the man got upset and started yelling and cursing at the employee. 

After first leaving the drive thru, police said, the man returned to the window on foot to continue yelling at the employee. The man then tried to open the drive thru window by kicking and pushing on the sliding window, police said. 

When the window opened, reached into the store, knocking over the receipt printer, and then picking up the credit card machine and throwing it at the victim. The employee suffered facial injuries as a result, police said. 

The man then fled the scene. Police are asking the public for help in identifying the suspect. 

In Nashville, an upset McDonald’s customer attacked an employee because her order was taking too long, Nashville police said. 

According to a statement by the Nashville Police Department, a woman entered the McDonald’s on Brick Church Pike earlier this month and ordered. When the order took longer than she expected, the customer stepped behind the counter and “punched an employee with a metal fry scooper.” 

Police said the employee, who has not been identified, suffered a gash to their head. The suspect, they said, drove off with a friend and a child in their car. 

Surveillance photos from the store released by the police to help identify her, showed the woman, wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts and wearing her mask on her chin, coming into the store, and attacking the employee. 

It’s not the first time this year a Tennessee fast food restaurant employee was attacked. In June, Memphis police said they arrested two customers after they started shooting at the restaurant because their chicken sandwich had too much hot sauce. 

Police said they were called to the Burger King in the Hollywood area of Memphis, after a female customer, 20-year-old Keonna Halliburton, was in an altercation with staff over a spicy chicken sandwich. 

After the altercation, Halliburton left with Tavarus Mckinney, 22. Later, the two returned and fired multiple shots at the store’s parking lot. Two people in the parking lot were hit by gunfire, police said. 

Burger King said they did not condone the shooting. 

"We do not tolerate or condone violence of any kind at Burger King restaurants because the safety of team members and guests is our top priority," a Burger King spokesperson told Insider. "Fortunately, team members are doing well after this inexcusable act of violence. The franchisee has been and will continue to fully cooperate with authorities on their investigation." 

On Friday, in Aiken, South Carolina, a Walmart employee reported that a black man, dressed as a ninja, attacked him. The employee told police that he didn’t know who the suspect was or why he attacked him. He was described as wearing a grey jacket, black pants, a black do rag, and a black mask, carrying a black samurai sword. 

On Saturday, in Dallas, a man dressed as a ninja assaulted a CVS employee. 

Police said the suspect, dressed in all black and carrying a , entered the store on Skillman Street and attacked the 63-year-old employee. The employee was taken to a hospital in critical condition. 

According to OSHA, reports of workplace violence may be more common than throught. 

“Many American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year,” the agency said on its web site. “Unfortunately, many more cases go unreported. Research has identified factors that may increase the risk of violence for some workers at certain worksites. Such factors include exchanging money with the public and working with volatile, unstable people. Working alone or in isolated areas may also contribute to the potential for violence. Providing services and care, and working where alcohol is served may also impact the likelihood of violence. Additionally, time of day and location of work, such as working late at night or in areas with high crime rates, are also risk factors that should be considered when addressing issues of workplace violence.” 

Workers most at risk of being attacked are those who exchange money with the public, delivery drivers, healthcare professionals, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement and those who work alone or in small groups.

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