Publication select ▼
Muhammad
EASTPOINTE — Police said that a man speaking to a McDonald’s manager at a drive-thru window watched in horror as an employee stabbed the manager multiple times with a knife, prompting the customer to fire his gun into the air to break up the altercation, before the man pursued the suspect on foot and detained her at gunpoint.
The harrowing sequence of events was related by Eastpointe Police Lt. Alexander Holish following the incident that occurred during the morning of Thursday, July 10, at the McDonald’s location on the north side of Nine Mile Road, west of Kelly Road, in Eastpointe.
Officers were dispatched to the restaurant at around 7:55 a.m. on reports of a stabbing and a shot fired. Holish said the investigation appeared to show that there had been a verbal dispute between the manager and employee, and the manager had sent the employee home early.
While the manager, identified as Jennifer Harris, 39, tended to the customer at the drive-thru window, the employee allegedly returned to the venue brandishing a knife. The employee reportedly proceeded to assault Harris in plain sight of the customer waiting at the drive-thru window.
“The customer first starts yelling — ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ — but it had no effect. He then pulled out his gun (which he was registered to carry) and fired a shot — not trying to hit anyone, but to stop (the suspect),” Holish said.
“The shot startled the assailant. She dropped her knife and ran out the door on the complete opposite side of the restaurant,” Holish said. “And the customer — this good Samaritan — he exited his vehicle and chased her on foot, stopping her as she attempted to leave in her truck, and keeping her there at gunpoint until we arrived to arrest her.
“We also took the victim to the hospital, but unfortunately, she was pronounced dead there,” Holish said. “As I’ve said before, no verbal argument should lead to any violence. People should act like adults and talk out their issues; they should never resort to knives or guns. Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing more conflicts where people are quick to resort to violence to settle disputes.”
The victim and suspect
Harris was the mother of six children and had worked at the McDonald’s restaurant for 15 years.
In a statement provided to C & G Newspapers, Yusef Alcodray, owner-operator of the Eastpointe McDonald’s location, said his team is “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and loved ones,” Alcodray said July 10. “Violence of any kind is unacceptable in my restaurants, and we are taking this matter extremely seriously, as the safety and well-being of our employees and customers is our top priority. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they conduct their investigation, and the restaurant will remain closed until further notice.”
The restaurant's drive-thru reopened on Saturday, July 12, while the dining room remained closed.
In a prepared statement July 11, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido described the incident as an “absolutely senseless and heartbreaking tragedy.”
“A life was taken in an act of unimaginable violence. The victim leaves behind six children, six young lives that will now grow up without a parent,” Lucido said. “This isn’t just a statistic; this is a family shattered, a future forever altered.
“It is deeply troubling that we continue to see violence used as a response to conflict,” Lucido said. “How have we reached a point where, for some, the solution to a disagreement or problem is to pick up a weapon instead of finding a way to resolve differences peacefully? This should not be normal, and it must not be accepted as the status quo.”
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office identified the suspect as Afeni Badu Muhammad, 26, of Eastpointe. She was arraigned the next day, July 11, in 38th District Court before Judge Kathleen Galen, charged with first-degree premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence without parole, and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, a five-year felony.
The judge set Muhammad’s bond at $25 million, cash or surety only. If bond is posted, Muhammad must wear a steel cuff tether, report daily to community corrections, and be tested for substance use. Muhammad is also prohibited from contacting the victim’s family or returning to the McDonald’s.
At press time, Muhammad was being held at the Macomb County Jail. She requested a court-appointed attorney, according to court records. She is scheduled to have a probable cause conference July 23 and a preliminary examination July 30 in 38th District Court.
According to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, Muhammad was previously convicted in a separate incident involving a knife, which took place in Virginia in April 2022. In that case, she pleaded guilty in Alexandria Circuit Court to unlawful bodily injury without malicious intent, receiving a four-year suspended sentence and one year of probation, according to online court records.
Holish confirmed that an apparent video testimonial Muhammad posted to Instagram in the days prior to the assault was indeed legitimate. In the video, Muhammad complains about having been sent home early by Harris multiple days in a row, repeatedly calling Harris “a bully.”
“All that animosity and (expletive) that she keeps putting in the air and stuff, and then trying to tell me I’m always snapping on people — no, that’s false. No, I don’t snap on people — I don’t go in there doing that. I told her, ‘No, I make peace.’ That’s what I’m doing,” Muhammad said in the video.
She later concluded her video by saying, “So, you know, she can keep being a bully if she wants to, but that (expletive) is going to catch up to her, because it ain’t funny at all — it ain’t.”
If you know more about this incident, call Eastpointe police at (586) 445-9415.
