A McDonald’s in downtown Seattle has implemented a “no door” policy, stopping customers from eating inside the dining room due to rampant crime in the area, according to a new report.
The fast-food joint on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street has seen stabbings, drug use, and even a shooting in which a woman was killed and seven others, including a child, were injured.
“I watched a girl get shot and killed right here,” Nick, a 45-year-old who used to do drugs in the area, told the Daily Mail. “It was a horrible shooting.”
The McDonald’s, which is located in an area called The Blade, had initially closed its dining room due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but after the horrific January 2020 shooting, it permanently shuttered.
Now, the restaurant’s doors are covered in plywood, and there’s a makeshift hatch where customers can order their food. Plexiglass covers most of the top portion of the hatch, leaving a small opening where employees can hand customers their food and receive payment.
“They do drugs and attack each other,” Nick said of the people who loiter outside the restaurant. “When it’s dark, it’s way worse — way more people getting assaulted and robbed.”
One McDonald’s employee told the Daily Mail that he’s also seen “some physical assaults” on the sidewalk outside the food joint.
One Seattle police officer told the publication that he’s seen three stabbings in front of the McDonald’s since the year began. It has been nicknamed “McStabby’s” by locals, according to the Daily Mail.
The Independent has reached out to the Seattle Police Department and McDonald’s for comment.
Last year, there were 3,145 aggravated assaults, nearly 1,440 robberies, more than 380 cases of rape and about 30 murders in Seattle, according to the police department. So far this year, there’ve been 80 cases of violent crime, including about 50 aggravated assaults.
