A man was stabbed to death yesterday evening, November 4, after a fight broke out over Popeyes’ famous chicken sandwich.
The victim, a 28-year-old man, had been in line at a Maryland branch of the fast food chain when he and another man got into an argument, police have confirmed.
Prince George’s County Police said they received reports of a fight at the Popeyes on Livingston Road in Oxon Hill on Monday at approximately 7pm.
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A spokesperson for Prince George’s County Police, Jennifer Donelan, said at a news conference last night that police believe the argument began over someone cutting in line.
The argument then allegedly escalated, resulting in the two men leaving the restaurant to continue the altercation, which quickly turned violent and resulted in one of the men being stabbed.
Donelan said, as per CNN:
For you to get that angry over anything… and to develop into this type of violence, again, it’s a very sad and tragic day.
Officers who arrived on the scene attempted to save the victim’s life, applying lifesaving measures until the man was rushed to a local hospital. However, it was too late and the man was pronounced dead approximately one hour later.
The suspect is currently on the run, with police actively searching for him. Donelan appealed directly to the suspect and asked that he turn himself in.
She continued:
We are looking for a male, and that male knows who he is. He knows what he did here tonight, and he needs to do the right thing and he needs to step up and turn himself in.
Donelan confirmed that the source of the argument was the restaurant’s chicken sandwich, which was re-released on Sunday, November 3, after being discontinued towards the end of August.
Stating that the police force has ‘been able to determine, preliminarily, that this is related to the release of the sandwich’, Donelan said, as per Fox 5 DC, the individual ‘was in line specifically’ for the food item when the altercation began.
The sandwich, which is made up of a piece of fried chicken on a buttered brioche bun with pickles, took America by storm when it was released in the summer – resulting in chaos when Popeyes discontinued the sandwich after just two weeks.
Arguments happened, fights broke out, and one man even climbed through a drive-thru window to fight a restaurant worker after finding out they’d ran out of the sandwich. So there was always going to be a buzz surrounding its re-release to the public.
It’s just so tragic that something as inconsequential as a sandwich has resulted in the tragic loss of a young man’s life.
Rest in peace.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).