Mehdi Medellel Chicago fast food restaurant worker at J&J’s Fish and Chicken shoots dead two men after argument during shift. One of the victims confirmed to be regular homeless man who frequented the establishment.
A Chicago fast food worker was caught on video pulling out a gun during his shift, Monday night, and shooting two men dead.
Mehdi Medellel, 42, was arrested and charged with first degree murder charges following the shooting at J&J’s Fish and Chicken restaurant on October 7 in Chicago’s Southwest Side.
The shooting unfolded after the two ‘un-identified’ victims, aged 55 and 56, began arguing with Medellel circa 10:30pm, when the fast food worker and store cashier pulled out a weapon and shot the two men dead. Media reported one of the victims was homeless.
One of the victims confirmed to be regular homeless customer
Video seemingly shows the victims (see below) un-aware of their impending death as Medellel targeted his victims. Surveillance tape captured one of the victims eating at a table and the other looking through a bag, before the worker armed with a gun emerged from behind a door.
Police said the two victims sustained a single gunshot each to the head and face, and were pronounced dead at the scene according to the Chicago Sun Times.
Having shot his victims, Medellel is seen casually leaving from the front door. The fast food worker was arrested some 30 minutes later. Police retrieved a firearm near a dumpster after the gunman directed police.
Speaking to WGN, an un-identified worker said that one of the victims was homeless and that he frequented the fast food restaurant daily and that she often fed the man. The female worker, reiterated that the man ‘never harmed anybody.’
Another customer also told of seeing a ‘couple of homeless people’ eating food inside the venue upon dropping by the venue to order food. The customer confirmed being told by an employee that one of the victims was the homeless man who frequented the joint.
‘He was always pleasant to me,’ the customer said of the deceased homeless man.
https://t.co/T0FMzecKYF Disturbing Footage Shows Fatal Shooting of Two Men by Mehdi Medellel During Heated Argument at JJ Fish & Chicken in Chicago: Employee Charged with First-Degree Murder in South Side Tragedyhttps://t.co/T0FMzecKYF In a deeply tragic and violent altercation… pic.twitter.com/whEGvBgxex
— Liblens (@liblens27188) October 9, 2024
Prior criminal record
The Chicago Police Department declined to comment on the nature of the mens’ dispute leading up to the fatal shooting.
During a Wednesday court arraignment, prosecutors called the shooting a ‘horrific’ ‘execution-style’ killing. They said neither victim was armed, CBS News reported.
According to online records, Medellel a father of two daughters, has a criminal history in Illinois and Florida, including an arrest in 2021 for domestic battery – bodily harm.
The restaurant was reportedly closed following the shooting as police cordoned off the scene.
Medellel will be held in custody until his next court date.
