Things got heated in a Kentucky kitchen earlier this week after an altercation over a Hot Pocket ended with a felony assault charge. According to NBC News, Clifton Williams was arrested on Sunday after shooting his roommate, who sustained non-life threatening injuries.
"Mr. Williams got mad he ate the last Hot Pocket," the reporting officer wrote in the police report, who added that Williams then "began throwing tiles at [his roommate]."
As Louisville NBC affiliate WAVE reported, the victim told investigators that he initially tried to fight back, but then decided to leave. Williams briefly followed, but then returned inside to get a gun. Williams then shot his roommate "in the ass while he was trying to leave," according to the citation.
The victim said he then went several blocks away to get help.
If this story sounds like a joke, it's because it is — and America is the punchline.
As CNN reports, this incident is just another example of how, in a country with more civilian guns than people, simple disagreements can escalate into incidents of gun violence very quickly.
Individuals in customer-facing positions are particularly vulnerable.
In Keene, Texas, earlier this month a 12-year-old boy allegedly shot and killed a Sonic Drive-In employee during an argument in the restaurant's parking lot.
In 2022, an Atlanta man opened fire in a Subway, killing one employee and injuring another, after complaining there was too much mayonnaise on his sandwich. Just a few days later, in Brooklyn, a customer shot a McDonald's worker in the neck because their fries were cold.
In the case of Clifton Williams, under Kentucky law, a person convicted of a second-degree assault conviction can be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. He was arraigned in Louisville Metro District Court earlier this week, where he entered a not-guilty plea. A bond was set at $7,500 cash. Per WAVE, Williams was ordered to have no contact with his roommate and not to possess a firearm or any other weapons.
The next court date for Williams is set for May 30.
