Twins Fought Waiter, Shot Him in the Face Over Restaurant Service: Police

Two sisters are facing attempted first-degree intentional homicide charges after allegedly fighting with and shooting a server at a restaurant in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

The January 30 incident reported to Wauwatosa police serves as one of the latest examples of violence targeting foodservice industry employees at a time of widely reported labor shortages and supply chain interruptions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The sisters, identified in a criminal complaint prepared by Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Jacob Corr as twins Breanta and Bryanna Johnson, were among four women arrested by Wauwatosa police last week in connection with the incident.

Shortly after midnight on January 30, police said they responded to a shooting at a George Webb restaurant where officers "determined that an argument over food service between an employee and a group of customers led to a physical altercation which ended with a female subject firing one shot, striking the employee in the face."

A copy of the criminal complaint shared with Newsweek said a restaurant employee was found suffering from a gunshot wound on the right side of his face when officers arrived.

Before the shooting occurred, the Johnson twins and two other unnamed individuals were being "impatient and rude" while sitting in a corner booth inside the restaurant, per the complaint. Another person employed at the restaurant told police the group started arguing with the employees "because their food was not getting served fast enough."

The employees asked the group to leave the restaurant, after which Breanta Johnson allegedly went outside and brought back a handgun. She later handed the gun to Bryanna Johnson, who is accused of trying to "pistol whip" the server as her sister fights with him.

Bryanna Johnson was identified in the criminal complaint as the one who allegedly shot the server in the face.

Breanta Johnson identified herself as the person who went outside to retrieve the weapon while speaking with authorities and said she "did not remember who or how the gun was taken from her during the altercation, stating she 'blacked out' at that point during the fight," according to the criminal complaint.

In the wake of the shooting, a GoFundMe page was launched to support one of the employees involved in the incident. The fundraiser identified a man named Anthony as the person who "was working as a waiter on the overnight shift when some customers got upset, pushed him down, and shot him in the face."

"They then proceeded to stomp on him before leaving," the fundraiser description read.

More than $30,000 had been raised in support of the restaurant employee as of Wednesday afternoon.

Violence targeting restaurant workers has been on the rise in recent years, according to a Fight for $15 survey released in December that assessed 911 calls made in connection with fast-food restaurants between 2017 and 2020 in California. During that time period, the survey found more than 77,000 incidents of violence or threats of violence were reported in nine of the state's major cities.

The violence has continued in recent weeks, with authorities in St. Louis identifying an argument over a french fry discount as the reason for a shooting at a McDonald's restaurant, the Associated Press reported. And an argument over barbecue sauce resulted in a Wendy's employee in Phoenix suffering a gunshot wound to the head, per WOAI.

In one survey released last summer by Snagajob and Black Box Intelligence, researchers said 62 percent of restaurant workers reported experiencing emotional abuse and other forms of disrespect from customers.

Update 2/9/22, 5:00 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional background information.