NEED TO KNOW
- A Popeyes employee in North Carolina allegedly shot a coworker during a shift on May 11
- A witness reportedly told authorities that the incident started over a disagreement about “burnt biscuits”
- Rodney Wood, 22, has since been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon
A Popeyes employee is facing a first-degree murder charge after allegedly shooting a coworker over biscuits.
Rodney Wood, 22, was arrested in Charlotte, N.C., at about 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, May 11, according to Mecklenburg County public arrest records. Wood has been charged with both attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, per the arrest details.
The altercation initially began inside a Popeyes location on South Boulevard, local news outlet WBTV reported.
According to a police affidavit obtained by the outlet, a customer who witnessed the incident said that Wood got in a disagreement with a fellow employee over “burnt biscuits.”
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The witness said the employees took the argument outside after one “challenged” the other. This allegedly led to a physical altercation, at which point Wood allegedly took out a gun and shot the other employee two times.
In court documents, authorities state that video taken from the scene allegedly shows Wood “discharging his firearm twice at point-blank range,” per WBTV.
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The outlet reported that the bullets hit the victim — whose name has not been released — in the groin and chest.
He was rushed to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery.
Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty
Wood allegedly ran from the Popeyes after the shooting, but authorities found him shortly after in the same shopping center as the restaurant, per WBTV.
He allegedly told authorities that his coworker had punched him in the face three times once they stepped outside and claimed that he fired “two warning shots” that were not intended to be fatal, per WBTV.
However, authorities said that Wood “failed to articulate a credible, imminent threat of deadly force necessary to support a self-defense claim under state law,” per the affidavit obtained by the outlet.
Both Wood and the victim were managers at the Popeyes location, local news outlet WCNC reported.
PEOPLE reached out to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office for comment on Saturday, May 17, but did not receive an immediate response.
Wood’s bond is set for $50,000.
