Wendy's Shooting Sees One Person Gunned Down Near New York Restaurant

Gunfire broke out outside a fast-food restaurant during the dinner rush in New York state on Monday evening when a victim was shot in a Wendy's parking lot.

The victim survived and is being treated in hospital, while the gunman fled the scene in Lockport, around 15 miles northwest of Buffalo.

The shooting comes amid a spate of gun crime across the nation that has sparked a fierce debate about gun control and led to multiple countries issuing warnings to their citizens considering traveling to the U.S.

Other attacks have unfolded at Wendy's branches. A 16-year-old worker barely survived after being shot in the head by a customer following an argument about barbecue sauce in Arizona last year. And another employee was shot twice, non-fatally, over a sauce dispute in Missouri in 2020.

The latest incident to unfold in New York on Monday night came as the restaurant was busy with diners.

A statement released online by Major Eugene J. Staniszewski, of New York State Police (NYSP), said: "On September 25, 2023, at approximately 7:40 P.M., Troopers out of SP Lockport responded to a possible shooting at Wendy's on South Transit Road in the town of Lockport.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that a group of individuals were in the parking lot when a male brandished a weapon then shot another individual. The suspect fled the scene. The victim was taken by ambulance for non-life-threatening injuries to Erie County Medical Center. This was an isolated incident in the parking lot of Wendy's.

"This is an active investigation. NYSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Forensic Identification Unit, Niagara County Sheriff's Office and the Lockport Police Department are assisting."

Newsweek reached out by email to the NYSP in the early hours of Tuesday morning seeking an update on the investigation, and has also emailed a Wendy's spokesperson requesting further information and comment on the incident.

Wendy's is not the only business that has suffered gun crime on its premises.

A Subway worker was killed in Atlanta last year by a customer following an argument about mayonnaise on a sandwich.

And just months ago, police said a car salesman was shot dead by an enraged customer following a disagreement about her vehicle's lease in Wisconsin.

In February, 2022, at a Publix grocery store in Florida, a customer killed another shopper when he gunned him down after a dispute about the checkout line.

Politicians have struggled to answer how to address the problem of gun violence blighting American cities.