EASTPOINTE, Mich. – The McDonald’s worker accused of stabbing and killing her manager in Eastpointe appeared in court Friday for the first time.
Afeni Muhammad, 26, of Eastpointe, is charged with first-degree murder in the case. She’s accused of stabbing her manager at the fast food restaurant after a disagreement.
Chief Judge Kathleen Galen set bond for Muhammad at $25 million during Friday’s proceedings.
Police said during the swear-to that Muhammad got sent home and told her manager, “I’ll be back.”
The prosecution said Muhammad went to a nearby park before returning to McDonald’s and attacking the manger with a knife.
You can watch the full arraignment in the video above.
What happened
The stabbing happened shortly before 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, at the McDonald’s at 17921 9 Mile Road.
Officers were dispatched to the McDonald’s location after receiving a report of a stabbing and a shot being fired.
When they arrived, they discovered that a manager and another employee had been involved in an argument, and the manager sent the employee home early.
Shortly after that, the employee, identified as Muhammad, allegedly returned to the McDonald’s with a knife and stabbed the manager, who has been identified by her family as 39-year-old Jennifer Harris.
“She left for five minutes,” said an employee who was working at the time of the attack. She came back with a mask on her face, and the only thing I seen was her hands, that’s how I knew it was her."
Muhammad allegedly stabbed her manager multiple times before a customer who was waiting in line in the drive-thru intervened.
The customer fired a shot to try to stop the attack, and then held the suspect at gunpoint until officers arrived. No one was struck by the bullet, according to police.
“He had her sitting down there in the parking lot next to a vehicle and he had the gun pointed at her,” said Edward Ballestero, another employee who was working when the stabbing happened. “That’s when police and all them rolled up.”
Officers arrived, and the employee was taken into custody.
Harris was taken to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Her children describe her as selfless and a hard worker who aimed 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 that Eastpointe McDonald’s for several years and said they had 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.”