Boy, 4, allegedly follows father’s order to shoot at officer after McDonald’s drive-thru dispute, police say

Feb. 22 2022, Published 4:13 p.m. ET
A Utah father who was involved in a confrontation in a McDonald’s drive-thru is accused of telling his 4-year-old boy to shoot a police officer, authorities claimed.
After law enforcement responded to the disturbance and were in the process of handcuffing Johnson, he allegedly told his boy to shoot an officer, police said.
A cop wrote in the report that he then spotted a gun emerge from one of the windows in Johnson’s vehicle.
“The officer shouted ‘gun’ and then saw a small child holding the gun,” the report states. “The officer managed to swat the gun with his hand when a round went off striking the upper part of the McDonald’s building.”
After the shooting, Johnson claimed he “blacked out” and said “he did not remember brandishing the gun or racking a round at the McDonald’s employee,” the arrest report states.
“The driver did admit that this was not the first time that his son had gotten ahold of his gun,” police noted in the report.
The child was released to relatives. KUTV reported a Utah Child and Family Services investigation may be pending.
Johnson was being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail. He faces charges of child abuse and use of a dangerous weapon.
