A homeless man is facing charges after being shot by a customer during the dinner rush Wednesday at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Peach Orchard Road in Augusta.
Maximilian Childs, 53, was reportedly grazed by a bullet around 6 p.m. when he entered a customer’s Ford Focus following an encounter with a Chick-Fil-A employee, authorities said.
Childs had approached the employee on foot in the pick-up line and was asking them for something. The attendant ignored him and walked away from the man, circling the customer’s vehicle. Childs allegedly entered the passenger window of the man’s Ford and tried to climb through it, authorities said. That is when person fired a gun and shot through the passenger door.
Childs then backed out of the window and laid on the ground. He was presumably taken to the hospital, and warrants have been obtained against him for simple assault and criminal trespass, a charge he has faced before. In May, he was sentenced to 12 months of confinement for two counts of trespassing, but he was freed early.
Multiple sheriff’s deputies and a marshal’s officer responded to the restaurant, located at 3130 Peach Orchard Road in Augusta.
Meanwhile, the restaurant staff was so shaken by the gunfire that they closed for the rest of the day and posted a statement on their Facebook page: “On Wednesday afternoon around 6 pm we had an incident that took place in our drive thru. Richmond County Sheriff’s Office was called and have handled the situation. Team Members are all safe but shaken up. With that, we have made the decision to close the restaurant for the remainder of the day. We look forward to serving you again tomorrow.”
Witness Ryan Alley posted this update: “Homeless man tried to get in someone’s car and the guy in the car shot and grazed his arm. Both of them are okay and the homeless man is in custody.”
Fans of the fast-food restaurant were prayerful, with Denise Beck saying, “Thoughts and prayers for the staff.”
On another page, Tammy Keel said, “Homeless is out of control in our area.”
