A KFC customer in St. Louis had a violent reaction this week when an employee informed him that the restaurant had run out of one of its most popular side dishes.
On Dec. 12, while placing an order in the drive-thru, the customer learned that the fast-food joint was out of corn, as reported by NBC affiliate KSDK.
The suspect, who police describe as a Black man around 40 or 50 years old with a "thin build," proceeded to threaten employees through the drive-thru speaker and approached the drive-thru window with a handgun.
A 25-year-old employee went outside and returned to the restaurant a few minutes later and said the customer had shot him.
According to an incident report from St. Louis’ Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting took place just after 6 p.m. at the KFC on Delmar Boulevard in the city’s Central West End neighborhood.
The KFC employee, who was driven to a local hospital after being shot in the abdomen, was in critical condition and his vitals were stable on Tuesday morning.
At the time, police were unable to interview the 25-year-old due to his injuries, but they are trying to identify the suspect, who drove away after the shooting. An incident report describes him as having a "scruffy beard" and wearing "a white/grey brimmed hat, and a blue jean jacket with a gray hood and sleeves."
KFC and the St. Louis’ Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to TODAY.com's request for comment as of this writing.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.