Watch screaming people run out of a New Jersey McDonald’s after man releases huge rat
The McDonald’s meal came with a side of terror.
A video posted to Facebook shows people sitting inside a New Jersey McDonald’s when a man releases a huge white rat. Shrieking customers jump on seats and run out the front door as the rodent appears to calmly investigate its new surroundings, the video shows.
The odd sequence of events happened last week in Newark, New Jersey, according to RLS Media. The outlet first reported on the video, which had amassed nearly 250,000 views by Thursday morning as it spread online.
The brief mayhem wasn’t funny at all for Celest Quintana, who owns the McDonald’s in question, as reported by CBS.
“The safety of our customers and the cleanliness of our restaurants are our top priorities,” Quintana told CBS. “Following this incident, our restaurant staff thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the dining area and contacted the police.
“We are currently working with local law enforcement to identify the person responsible for this deliberate act,” she said, according to CBS.
The video, shared by a Facebook user named Fe Begout, begins with a man standing outside the fast food joint. He’s trailed by a young boy, who is heard saying “let me hold it! let me hold it!”
As the hooded man attempts to open the plastic cage, the boy says “no! no!,” the video shows.
The man pops off the top of the cage, video shows, and plops the white rat onto the ground. Immediately, patrons inside the McDonald’s begin to shout, with one woman exclaiming “What the f---?!”
Another man is heard yelling, “Let me out!”
The video shows both the young boy and the man who released the rat running for the front door.
But they weren’t the only ones who made a quick exit, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said.
“The rat exited the restaurant through the front door,” she said, according to NJ.com.
“No arrests have been made in the preposterous event, but a Newark police spokeswoman said the department is investigating,” NJ.com reported.
Both NBC and CBS reported receiving no comment from the Newark Police Department about the incident.
On his Facebook, Fe Bugout denied being the man in the video.
“For y’all cops that’s looking at my page all I did was repost the video it’s not me in it,” he wrote early Wednesday morning.
But not everyone understood why it was such a big deal.
“What is with all the people,” a person commented on the Facebook video. “Grow up, it’s one pet rat for crying out loud. Pick it up and put it back in the box he tossed.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Watch screaming people run out of a New Jersey McDonald’s after man releases huge rat."