EASTPOINTE, Mich. – An employee of a McDonald’s in Macomb County has died after being stabbed by a co-worker following a dispute, police said.
Just before 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, Eastpointe officers responded to the McDonald’s at 17921 9 Mile Road after receiving a report of a stabbing and a shot fired.
When police arrived, they learned that a manager and another employee had gotten into an argument, and the employee was sent home early.
The employee allegedly returned a short time later with a knife and stabbed the manager with whom she had a dispute, according to police.
A customer allegedly fired a shot to stop the attack. No one was struck by the bullet, police said.
After the stabbing, the suspect tried to leave the McDonald’s store, but was detained by the customer who had witnessed the attack.
Officers arrived a short time after that, and the suspect was taken into custody.
The employee who was stabbed was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries, according to police.
Another employee told Local 4 about the moment the stabbing had happened.
“When I came out the freezer, I heard a bunch of commotion,” said Edward Ballestero. “A couple of girls came by screaming and hollering, and I was like ‘What’s going on?’ One of my co-workers was like, ‘She’s being stabbed and I was like, ‘Who’s being stabbed?’ I could see the lady lying down because I could see her arm.”
The family of the victim identifies her as 39-year-old Jennifer Harris, known as “jamma” to her loved ones. Her children describe her as selfless and a hard worker who worked to provide for her six children as a single mother.
“She was the best mom anybody could ever ask for,” said Harris’ daughter, Antonia Griffin. “My mama – she woke up every day and went to work for us. My mama died trying to take care of us.”
Her children said Harris had worked as a manager at the McDonald’s for several years and said they even met the coworker accused of killing her.
They’re now in shock at how such senseless violence could have ended their mother’s life.
“She’s a hard-working woman, so kind,” Griffin said. “If anybody needed her help, she would give you her last, give you the shirt off her back. She did not deserve this at all.”
Anyone who witnessed the stabbing is asked to contact Eastpointe Detective Showers at 586-445-9415.
The case will be sent to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review.