McDonald’s crime-plagued McDonald’S is about to close after viral video

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McDonald’s crime-plagued McDonald’S is about to close after viral video

A crime-plagued Canadian McDonald s, which gained international notoriety nearly a decade ago for a viral video of a brawl involving a raccoon, is about to close.

The franchise owner of McDonald's in Rideau Street in Ottawa told Insider this month that the location will close and that it was a business decision based on the viability of the specific site. It was part of the routine at the fast-food spot, where police responded to various incidents of drug use and violence.

In 2017 alone, local police responded to McDonald's 900 times, according to Bordeleau, and received 843 calls for police in 2018. In April 2019, he said that police responded to the location seven times a day for two days in a row.

If you have a criminal mind, this is a target-rich environment, Inspector Ken Bryden told CTV News in 2019 of McDonald's.

It draws thousands of pedestrians a day, which draws a lot of activity. In 2014 a brawl broke out in McDonald's location, with video footage of the scene going viral for an unexpected appearance of a raccoon during the fight.

The men hit each other as other patrons line up to order food. A man pulls a raccoon from his sweatshirt and holds it up, almost as if to show the animal the fight. The man is seen a few seconds later with a cigarette in his mouth, and the raccoon apparently returned to his sweatshirt.

One resident close to McDonald s told CTV in 2019: "When you come here, you're afraid," he said.

I was here about a week and a half ago, another man, Jack Graham, told CBC News this month that he found a hypodermic needle on the floor of McDonald's. I just felt that I was slipping, so I looked at my shoe and there was a needle. The McDonald's has been in business since 1985, according to Insider.

Adeel Hashmi, McDonald's Canada franchisee, told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the exact date of closure is pending. The lease was not renewed and the store will likely close in April, according to CTV News.

Hashmi, a franchisee of multiple McDonald's restaurants in the Ottawa area, said that the goal is to deliver the best possible experience to our guests every time they visit us.

The closure of our restaurant on 60 George Street is a business decision based on the viability of the restaurant, according to the statement. We hope that our guests in the Ottawa region will visit one of our other restaurants. We are pleased that all of our managers and crew will continue their employment at one of our other locations in the region. Stateside, McDonald s announced the closure of a location on Canal Street in New Orleans earlier this year. In September 2022, McDonald s CEO Chris Kempczinski said that crime in Chicago, where the fast-food company is headquartered, is making it hard to attract employees.

Kempczinski said everywhere I go, I'm confronted by the same question. There is a general sense that our city is in crisis. Kempczinski said that it's more difficult for a new employee to join McDonald's in Chicago than it was in the past.