Guacamole dispute apparently prompts customer to shoot Chipotle employee: 'This is a first'

An employee of a Chipotle restaurant in Michigan is recovering from a gunshot wound he sustained after a disgruntled customer shot him, apparently over an issue with guacamole.

Around 7 p.m. on Friday, a violent scuffle erupted inside a busy Chipotle restaurant located in Southfield, Michigan, a city just outside Detroit. According to witnesses, a customer became so enraged about something that when the employee assisting him went into the back area of the restaurant for a moment, the customer walked behind the counter and began placing his food items into a bag.

The 21-year-old employee soon afterward returned to his station, and the two men apparently began fighting. The New York Post reported that the customer "flashed" a firearm as the employee grabbed his shirt. Moments later, a shot rang out.

Grainy, unsteady cellphone video, likely filmed by another patron, captured some of the altercation — as well as the sound of the gunshot:

The victim was taken to the hospital for a non-life-threatening wound to the leg. He is expected to recover, though whether he remains in the hospital is unclear.

Meanwhile, the suspect, identified only as a 32-year-old Detroit man, apparently had no sense of urgency about the incident. One witness even claimed the man lingered inside the restaurant for at least 30 seconds after the shot was fired. "I was in my car, and I saw him just walk out to his car, close the door, and just drive off — he didn’t speed off or anything," the witness said.

The suspect was later located in a nearby parking lot and arrested. He remains in custody.

A woman accompanied the suspect to the restaurant, but she is not currently facing any charges. Police also recovered the weapon used in the shooting.

Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer for Chipotle, issued a statement:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our team member who was injured by the senseless act of violence that occurred inside our Evergreen Road restaurant in Southfield, MI.

We are working cooperatively with the authorities handling this investigation and hope justice will be served for the individual responsible for this crime.

When asked about a possible motive for the shooting, police indicated that the men were arguing over guacamole.

Such a seemingly insignificant issue leading to such a violent outburst that endangered many lives left even seasoned reporters stunned. "You know, we've been covering the news for a long time," stated Camille Amiri of Fox 2 Detroit, "but this is a first: a shooting over a guacamole."

One day after the shooting, a prospective customer drove to the Chipotle location, only to find it still closed. "It’s guacamole," she later told WXYZ. "I love guacamole personally, but I would never shoot someone over it. I don’t know why someone would do that."

Whether the restaurant has yet reopened is unclear. A call made to the location late Monday afternoon resulted in an automated response claiming that the location was not currently accepting online or phone orders.

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