Disgruntled Chick-fil-A customer wielding a stun gun is shot dead by cop after yelling ‘It’s just a f–ing sandwich’ and backing his pickup into the restaurant
- A disgruntled Chick-fil-A customer went on a rampage at one of the chicken chain’s restaurants in Lincoln, Nebraska, yelling, ‘It’s just a f–ing sandwich
- Joseph Cimino, 48, was tackled from behind by another patron when he started screaming and attacking customers, and forced outside
- Cimino then returned with a vengeance, backing up his pickup truck into the restaurant, sending customers running for safety
- Christopher Hall, a uniformed railroad cop who was in line at the Chick-fil-A at the time, fatally shoots Cimino when he approached him armed with a stun gun
- Police said Hall, an 8-year veteran BNSF Railway senior special agent, was administering CPR on Cimino when they arrived at the restaurant
- Cimino died a short while later at the scene from his injuries. Cops knew of him, but said they were unaware of any premeditated reason for unleashing the rage
A disgruntled Chick-fil-A customer was shot dead by a police officer after going on a rampage and backing his pickup into the restaurant.
Police said Christopher Hall opened fire on the man for approaching him with a stun gun in the popular chicken chain’s restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Joseph Cimino, 48, died at the scene from his injuries, according to police.
A Chick-fil-A customer was fatally shot by a uniformed railroad cop at one of the popular chicken chain’s restaurants in Lincoln, Nebraska, Tuesday after going on a rampage
Joseph Cimino, 48, is seen in a video taken after he reared his pickup into the Chick-fil-A. He is alleged to have driven his silver 2018 Dodge pickup in reverse through the windows on the northwest side of the restaurant. It came to rest against the front counter
Employees were ordered by their manager to the back of the restaurant (pictured above) and then exited out the rear door.
Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said cops seized computers from Cimino’s apartment but found no immediate evidence of a premeditated motive for the rampage, reports the Lincoln Journal Star.
Cimino had lived in the area for a short while and was even known to police, but he did not have an arrest record, after cops ran a background investigation on the man.
The violence erupted when Cimino was unhappy with his food, shortly before 1 p.m.
Employee Thomas Arias, 15, told the Lincoln Journal Star that he was working behind the counter when he heard a disturbance coming from the dining room. When he looked to see, Arias said he spotted Cimino flipping over tables and throwing food.
‘He was yelling, ‘It’s just a f—ing sandwich,” the teen worker recalled.
Employees were ordered by their manager to the back of the restaurant and then exited out the rear door.
Another patron Todd Ogden, who is president and CEO of the Downtown Lincoln Association, and who was at the restaurant with his wife, tackled Cimino from behind for screaming attacking customers, reports the Lincoln Journal Star.
That’s when Cimino returned with a vengeance, backing up his pickup truck into the restaurant.
Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister(pictured above) said cops seized computers from Cimino’s apartment but found no immediate evidence of a premeditated motive for the rampage
Customers are seen running for cover in a video taken of the rage moment, after Cimino drives the silver 2018 Dodge pickup in reverse through the windows on the northwest side of the restaurant. It came to rest against the front counter and he is seen punching the restaurant’s equipment.
Hall, on line when Cimino returned to menace more people inside the restaurant, noticed the enraged man was armed with a commercially available stun gun. When he came at Hall, the railroad cop tried to calm the situation down.
‘The cop was like, ‘Calm down and back off,’ but the guy kept approaching,’ recalled Arias. ‘So the cop pulled his gun and shot him’.
There were no other injuries. Chief Bliemeister said the a grand jury would step in to review the findings of an investigation and make a final determination of what prompted such violence from Cimino.
Hall also will be brought in for questioning, said Bliemeister.