D’Mari Jy’Quan Patterson allegedly cornered one of his victims and shot at her, shattering a restaurant window, per police
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NEED TO KNOW
- D’Mari Jy’Quan Patterson was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm
- The incident began when two Taco Bell customers attempted to fill a water cup with soda
- Patterson then called 911 and allegedly told a dispatcher that a customer “jumped” behind the counter
Authorities in Florida have revealed the moments leading up to the alleged shooting that unfolded at a Taco Bell when two customers were allegedly trying to fill their water cup with soda.
D’Mari Jy’Quan Patterson, 20, was arrested on Monday, April 27 in connection with the alleged attack at a Taco Bell in West Palm Beach, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
The women were accompanied by a third friend who later came into the store. Two of them came into the Taco Bell and asked Patterson, behind the counter, for a cup of water, per the affidavit. One of them then went to the soda machine and began filling the water cup with soda, at which point Patterson began yelling at both women.
An argument ensued between him and the friends, including the third woman who had walked into the store by that point.
As the encounter escalated, Patterson was then heard yelling at two friends of the woman who tried to fill the cup with soda: "Do Something! Do Something," as recorded in a video by another customer.
As another employee tried to intervene by separating Patterson from the women, a "sound of the slide of a firearm being racked" was caught in audio, the affidavit stated. Patterson is then heard "swinging" his arm at the one of the women, when a gunshot is heard.
Related: Taco Bell Worker Shoots at 3 Customers After One Tried to Fill Water Cup with Soda, Police Say
One of the women had a graze on her eyebrow. The woman who Patterson allegedly "swung" at ran out of the store and he went after her; he then allegedly shot at the third friend who was cornered in one part of the restaurant. He missed, instead striking and shattering a window. The woman's shoulder "broke through the damaged window," the affidavit alleges.
The women managed to escape and seek medical help.
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Patterson allegedly called 911 and told the dispatcher a customer "jumped behind the counter" and he retrieved his weapon and shot, the affidavit claims.
He has been charged with three counts aggravated assault with a firearm, online court records show. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
