JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WKRC) – A teenager working at Burger King with aspirations of joining the Marines was allegedly shot and killed while attempting to break up a violent fight between customers.
The incident took place at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday at a Burger King location where 18-year-old Matthew Jackson worked, according to a release from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
One of the men involved in the argument, 33-year-old Ray Cummings Jr., told police that he recognized an old friend of his when he entered the restaurant, according to an arrest report obtained by WJAX. Cummings said he had been friends with the other man, 28-year-old Dawud Burritt, for eight years before a falling out left them not speaking to each other for about a year.
Cummings told police he attempted to shake Burritt’s hand, leading to a verbal argument that quickly turned physical.
Jackson stepped in and attempted to stop the fight, at which point Burritt reportedly pulled out a gun. As customers and workers alike started to run away and out of the restaurant, they reported hearing two gun shots before Burritt himself fled the scene.
First responders arrived to find Jackson dead near the restaurant’s rear drive-thru window, per the report. Cummings was found also wounded with a gunshot outside behind the Burger King. He was taken to the hospital and was expected to make a recovery.
Burritt was later arrested and charged with armed burglary, second-degree murder, and attempted second-degree murder.
