Ax-wielding madman runs amok in NYC McDonald’s — and nobody was lovin’ it

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004


Ax-wielding madman runs amok in NYC McDonald’s — and nobody was lovin’ it​



By
Larry Celona,

Valentina Jaramillo and

Dean Balsamini


September 17, 2022 1:48pm
Updated









Axe-wielding madman runs amok in NYC McDonald’s — and nobody was lovin’ it



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It was a Big Mac attack!
An ax-wielding wingnut ran amok inside a Delancey Street McDonald’s, terrorizing patrons and causing thousands of dollars worth of property damage, officials said.
What started as a nothing burger — a 2:25 a.m. dispute between the suspect, Michael Palacios, 31, of the Bronx, and three other men — escalated into a rampage.
The three men smacked a smirking Palacios, who then is seen on video putting his right arm against his head before calmly walking over to his backpack, where he pulled out an axe and then threatened his combatants and frightened patrons.

“Bro, please! You better chill!,” one man told him. A crazed Palacios then approached one stunned woman with the axe and shouted, “Don’t be afraid of me, be afraid of him!”
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No one was lovin’ the early Friday episode, captured on TikTok by user Shakes McGoo, who snarked, “NYC always good for some chaotic mayhem. He didn’t hurt anybody, but could have been ugly!”


“That’s why I keep my knife on me all the time,” spouted one of the onlookers who was recording the incident.

A man charges at another man.A man charged at Mcdonald’s customers with an ax in the Bronx.Twitter/@McgooShakes
Palacios declined to talk when reached by The Post on Saturday, claiming “all of this was very sudden” before quickly offering his Instagram handle, @ontheblockwithsoho, where he’d been posting about the outburst and bragging it had gotten 12 million views.


One commenter quipped on Palacios’ post about the ax drama, “Lmaooo Mike had a fight?”


And another shot out “@ontheblockwithsoho n–a why you go stupid like this on the Bowery” followed by three laughing emojis.

Michael Palacio charges with an ax.Michael Palacios was charged with criminal mischief and three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.Twitter
By late afternoon, Palacios was enjoying some sort of twisted fame. Social media had already dubbed him “the ax man.”


No one was hurt in the incident, police said. Palacios, who has one prior arrest on his rap sheet for resisting arrest, was charged with criminal mischief and three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.


On Saturday, the McDonald’s on Delancey looked like nothing had happened, save for the hole in the wall next to the bathroom.


The unhinged episode caught the attention of gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, who tweeted, “Just another day in Kathy Hochul’s New York. After we fire Hochul on November 8th, we are taking back our streets!”

The men fight in the McDonalds.The fight caused thousands of dollars worth of property damage.Twitter/@McgooShakes
There must be something in the iconic restaurant’s secret sauce that makes people go off the menu.



What do you think? Post a comment.

In July, a McDonald’s employee in Brooklyn was pepper sprayed in what appeared to be an attempted robbery.


Last month, a fight over cold french fries led to the shooting of a McDonald’s worker in Bedford-Stuyvesant.


Additional reporting by Matthew Sedacca and Georgia Worrell
 


McDonald’s ax swinger had just been ‘rejected’ by woman, witness says​



By
Steven Vago and

Jesse O’Neill


September 18, 2022 2:34am
Updated





Michael Palacios was identified as the man that destroyed a Manhattan McDonald's property.
Michael Palacios was identified as the man that destroyed a Manhattan McDonald's property. @kiddlite21 via McgooShakes/Twitter






A man who went on a scary ax-swinging rampage at a Manhattan McDonald’s on Saturday morning had flipped out after a young woman “rejected” his advances, a witness said.
Michael Palacios, 31, was arrested after cellphone video showed him grabbing an ax out of his backpack, destroying property and terrorizing customers inside the Delancey Street fast-food restaurant just before 2:30 a.m.
Ruben G, an Uber Eats delivery man who witnessed the fight, told The Post the altercation began after Palacios was spurned by the unidentified woman.
“So basically he got into an argument with a girl, and then the girl rejected him. She didn’t want to talk to him. He kept going at her…that’s when the guys she was with stepped in and they started arguing. It all led to that,” Ruben said.
“He was trying to talk to her and whatever. He was asking for her number, where she was from, and I guess she felt some way. She replied back in a certain manner that she didn’t want to give too much info and he kept pushing on.”

Alcohol also played a role in the would-be pickup artist’s failure to impress the woman, according to Ruben.
“He was drunk. He was talking to me; I can smell the liquor off him,” said the Uber Eats driver, who was back at the Lower East Side McDonald’s again Saturday night
Palacios is seen in video footage taking punches from three men before he calmly retrieves the ax, smashes a floor-to-ceiling glass panel and hacks up several tables and walls.
A man was swinging an axe during an altercation at the location.The rampage occurred at the McDonald’s location on Delancey Street in Manhattan.William Farrington Damaged wall at the 114 Delancey Street.Palacios destroyed a table, a glass wall and made a hole in the wall.William Farrington
He then slaps one of the men he was previously fighting with out of his chair – and approaches a scared woman sitting at a table to yell, “Don’t be afraid of me, be afraid of him!”
After the rampage, Palacios fled the scene on his bike but was picked up a short time later by police on nearby Ludlow Street, the driver said.
“Bro, there was a glass here and a glass there. He smashed both of them. He broke the table in half with the ax.”
A worker at the eatery said he had never seen the suspect before, but he wasn’t shocked about the violence, which he said is “common in the area.”
The worker, who declined to give his name, said the damage “was a lot” and the situation was above his paygrade.





“The higher ups can deal with that,” he quipped.


Meanwhile, outside the McDonald’s location on Saturday night, a ranting woman kicked over a garbage can.


Palacios, a Bronx resident, was charged with criminal mischief and three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.


When reached for comment by The Post, the suspect initially declined to talk before bragging about the millions of views the clip had generated on social media — w
 



Madman seen smashing NYC McDonald’s with an ax released without bail​



By
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon


September 18, 2022 3:43pm
Updated









Axe-wielding madman runs amok in NYC McDonald’s — and nobody was lovin’ it



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An accused jilted madman who flew into an ax-wielding rage at a Lower East Side McDonald’s was released without bail at his arraignment, authorities said Sunday.
Michael Palacios, 31, who allegedly grabbed an ax and trashed the Delancey Street fast-food joint in a fit early Friday, was arraigned on fourth-degree criminal-mischief and possession-of-weapons charges hours later and freed, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
Neither charge is eligible for bail under the state’s lenient criminal-justice reforms.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Palacios slammed two tables and a plate-glass partition during the early-morning rampage.
Palacios also told cops, “I have a pocket knife in my bike,” according to the complaint.
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A witness to the wild caught-on-video incident said Palacios went off when a woman at the restaurant “rejected” him after he continually tried to talk to her.


“So, basically he got into an argument with a girl, and then the girl rejected him,” Uber Eats deliveryman Ruben G told The Post. “She didn’t want to talk to him. He kept going at her.”


Cell-phone video of the incident shows three men at the McDonald’s then intervened and began throwing punches at Palacios, who appeared to remain calm.

Michael Palacios was charged on fourth-degree criminal-mischief and possession-of-weapons.Michael Palacios was charged on fourth-degree criminal-mischief and possession-of-weapons.@kiddlite21 via McgooShakes/Twit Michael Palacios slammed two tables and a plate-glass partition.Michael Palacios slammed two tables and a plate-glass partition.@kiddlite21 via McgooShakes/Twit Michael Palacios went off when a woman at the restaurant rejected him.Michael Palacios went off when a woman at the restaurant “rejected” him.Twitter/@McgooShakes
But after the men backed off, Palacios allegedly reached into his backpack and pulled out the ax and began smashing tables and the wall in the restaurant while patrons scattered in fear.


Palacios is then seen getting back on his bicycle and taking off.


Police later arrested him and charged him in the incident.


Sources said he has one prior bust, for resisting arrest.

Michael Palacios was arraigned after an attack at an NYC McDonald's.Michael Palacios was arraigned after an attack at an NYC McDonald’s.Instagram/@ontheblockwithsoho
 

Bronx man who smashed up Manhattan McDonald’s with ax is busted again​



By
Patrick Reilly and

Joe Marino


October 11, 2022 6:33pm
Updated









Axe-wielding madman runs amok in NYC McDonald’s — and nobody was lovin’ it







The man who went on an ax-wielding rampage at a Manhattan McDonald’s has been busted again — this time for allegedly spraying-painting graffiti in Brooklyn and then swiping a pricey bike to try to flee cops.
Michael Palacios — who was caught on video smashing up the crowded fast-food joint on the Lower East Side during a beef with other patrons in September — was approached by police around 5:40 p.m. Sunday after he was seen spraying graffiti behind 69 Second Ave. in Gowanus, according to police sources.
The 31-year-old messenger ran and snatched a bicycle from in front of a coffee shop and tried to ride off before he was detained, sources said.
The blue bike, valued at $3,500, was damaged in the chase, sources said. Palacios of Manhattan was found in possession of graffiti paraphernalia at the time, according to sources.
While he was in custody, police also blamed Palacios for a graffiti incident in June at the Broad Channel subway station in Queens, sources said.
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Palacios was charged with grand larceny, two counts of criminal mischief, possession of stolen property, making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments. In connection with the summer graffiti incident, he was charged with additional counts of making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments.

Michael Palacios, 31, armed with a hatchet inside of a mcdonaldsVideo of Palacios smashing tables and glass at a LES McDonald’s went viral last month.Twitter/@McgooShakes Michael Palacios, 31, Palacios, 31, was arrested again Sunday for alleged graffiti and bike theft.KEVIN C DOWNS
He was released without bail Oct. 10, sources said.


After his violent outburst at the Delancey Street McDonald’s last month, Palacios told The Post he was not “unhinged” and that he was simply defending himself after being “pummeled” by some other customers during a misunderstanding over the bathroom.


“It’s not luck that they didn’t get chopped up. I didn’t chop them up because I didn’t want to,” said Palacios, adding that he carries the hatchet around with him for protection.


Cell-phone footage from the 2:30 a.m. incident shows three men smacking a smirking Palacios after a dispute. He waits still for moment and then calmly walks over to his backpack, pulls out an ax and threatens his combatants and smashes up the restaurant, according to the video.


At one point in the clip, he points the weapon at a frightened woman.

Michael Palacios armed with a hatchet at McDonaldsAt one point during the altercation at McDonald’s last month, Palacios pointed the hatchet at a woman.@kiddlite21 via McgooShakes/Twit
“Don’t be hanging out with punk-ass dudes because they’re going to get you into problems like this,” Palacious said he told her.


“And after that, I shook her hand,” he said. “I understood it was a very intense situation, a lot of drama going on.”




Palacios, who had lost his job at a brewery the day before, left the McDonald’s on his bicycle after the incident but was arrested by cops nearby.
He was arraigned on charges of criminal mischief and weapons possession and released without bail in the case, Manhattan prosecutors said.
 

McDonald’s ‘ax man’ Michael Palacios, his dog struck in Manhattan hit-and-run​



By
Allie Griffin


February 1, 2023 2:27am
Updated





Footage of the hit-and-run shows Michael Palacios laying on the ground after he was hit near East 50th Street on Jan. 31, 2023.
Footage of the hit-and-run shows Michael Palacios laying on the ground after he was hit near East 50th Street on Jan. 31, 2023. Instagram





The man who flew into an ax-wielding rampage at a Lower East Side McDonald’s last year was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in Manhattan Friday evening.
Michael Palacios was riding his cargo bike along Fifth Avenue with his dog Simba when an SUV driver struck them from behind and then sped off, according to surveillance video posted to Instagram by Palacios.
The 32-year-old bike messenger said he insulted the person’s driving before they rammed him with the vehicle near East 50th Street just before 4:40 p.m.
“What happened? I told a bad driver he drives like s–t… I proceeded and he rammed me from behind,” Palacios wrote in the caption of the video.
The alarming footage captured the SUV driving through an intersection right into the back of Palacios’ bike without slowing down.

Michael Palacios said he insulted the person's driving before they hit him with the vehicle near East 50th Street on Jan. 31, 2023. Michael Palacios said he insulted the person’s driving before they hit him with the vehicle near East 50th Street on Jan. 31, 2023. Instagram
Palacios fell off the bike and his dog Simba tumbled off the front before both stood up. The driver only breaks after striking them and waits for Palacios to move just out of the way before speeding off — narrowly missing Simba who was walking towards his owner, the footage shows.


“We don’t deserve this,” Palacios wrote.


The NYPD confirmed a report of a hit-and-run involving a cyclist on Friday at the same location, but were unable to confirm that the victim was Palacios because the department does not identify non-fatal victims.

The NYPD confirmed the report of the hit-and-run involving, but they were unable to confirm if it was Palacios on Jan. 31, 2023 near 50th street. The NYPD confirmed the report of the hit-and-run involving, but they were unable to confirm if it was Palacios on Jan. 31, 2023 near 50th street. Instagram
The victim sustained minor injuries to his leg and was treated on the scene, police added.


Palacios said his cargo bike took most of the impact and shared a photo of the mangled bicycle on Instagram.


“The great thing about cargo bikes is they receive 90% of the impact,” he said, adding that Simba was not leashed to the bike so he was able to move to safety.


He has since launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for a new cargo bike — raising nearly $2,000 of its $5,000 goal by early Wednesday.

Footage from last year shows Michael Palacios smashing up a McDonald’s on Delancey after getting into a dispute. Footage from last year shows Michael Palacios smashing up a McDonald’s on Delancey after getting into a dispute.
Palacios went viral last September after he was caught on camera smashing up a McDonald’s on Delancey after getting into a dispute with three customers at the fast food restaurant.


He was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and three counts of menacing and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon following the incident.


A couple days later, Palacios told The Post that he isn’t “unhinged” and was only defending himself after he got smacked around by the three men — adding that he never swung the ax at any people, only property.


The driver in Friday’s hit-and-run remains at large.
 
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