Getting food from a fast-food drive-thru should be easy and painless, yet somehow, people find a way to make it miserable. We totally understand that the customer isn’t always right but neither is the employee. There are always two sides to every story, and we should all treat each other civilly, no matter what, right? Apparently, not at a Wendy’s in Kansas City, Missouri. Things got totally out of control on March 20, 2026, leaving one man with a gunshot wound and another charged with a felony.
Officers responded to a call about a late-night shooting.
According to court documents, officers from the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office responded to an apartment building following a call about a shooting around 11:30 p.m. The unidentified victim told police the shooting occurred nearby at the Wendy’s restaurant at 4931 N. Oak Trafficway. He claimed a “heavy-set, bald, male employee” treated him rudely. The two men had a verbal altercation that turned violent, according to the shooting victim. When he confronted the manager, the man allegedly brandished a gun and shot him.
The argument reportedly erupted because of a late-night chicken order.
Police went to Wendy’s and spoke to manager Terrence Phillips about what happened earlier that night. Phillips, who KSHB reported is a convicted felon, claimed he knew nothing about a shooting. He did admit to a misunderstanding with the victim about his order.
“Phillips stated that he was working in the drive-thru window when a customer arrived at the menu board to place an order,” police noted in the probable cause statement. “Phillips stated that late at night, he tells all customers who order chicken to pull forward because the chicken has to be freshly cooked. Phillips stated that the customer had an issue with him making that request.”
When the victim’s drinks spilled in his car, that was evidently the last straw.
The victim told police officers that Phillips handed him a drink carrier that spilled liquid all over his car. Upset, he drove around to complain, but employees allegedly refused to help him, KSHB reported. He reportedly saw Phillips by his vehicle and approached him. He claimed that the manager shot at him, and the victim left to go to his nearby apartment to call 911. The victim had a single gunshot wound in his shoulder that exited through his chest. His current condition is unknown.
According to the Wendy’s manager, he had nothing to do with the man’s gunshot wound.
Police reportedly found damning evidence at the restaurant, and employee witnesses apparently corroborated the victim’s account.
Video surveillance reportedly shows Phillips leaving the restaurant and returning a short time later with what appears to be a gun. Police recovered a black Glock 22 handgun from inside the restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator and a shell casing in the parking lot. It’s all a bit too coincidental, per KSHB.
“Phillips stated that he did not shoot anyone, does not know anything about a gun, or why would there be a gun that was recovered in the restaurant. PHILLIPS denied any involvement in anything other than a verbal altercation,” police noted in the probable cause statement.
Police didn’t believe Phillips, who faces charges of first-degree assault, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon, KSHB reported. A judge set his bond at $1 million.
Sir, if you don’t want to deal with people in the drive-thru late at night, get out of the fast food business. No one needs to get hurt — or possibly die — because of impatience and frustration.
