Video: Man allegedly flashed gun at Somali-American teens in Eden Prairie McDonald's

Video of the Monday night confrontation surfaced on social media
Screenshot from a video of a Monday night confrontation at the Eden Prairie McDonald's posted to Twitter.
Via Twitter

Updated: Nov. 21, 5:43 p.m. | Posted: Nov. 20, 5:37 p.m.

Eden Prairie police say they're investigating a report of a man flashing a gun at a group of Somali-American teens Monday night at a McDonald's restaurant.

Video of the incident, viewed on Twitter more than 500,000 times, shows some of the confrontation that reportedly began when several of the girls heard a white man make a comment about them allegedly trying to use an electronic benefit transfer card to buy food.

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The situation escalated, and a manager asked everyone to leave. The man then reportedly pulled out a gun as he left the restaurant.

On Wednesday afternoon, a man was arrested in connection to the incident. The 55-year-old Eden Prairie resident was arrested on probable cause for second-degree assault and the case has been referred to the Hennepin County attorney for a charging decision.

"It's definitely a very scary situation for someone to pull out a gun and then for the reaction of what appeared to be the manager there to ask everybody to leave and draw people into a very unsafe environment," said Jaylani Hussein executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The four girls in the video reached out to the organization for help, he added.

Eden Prairie police say they got a 911 call at about 8 p.m. Monday regarding disorderly conduct at the McDonald's at 598 Prairie Center Drive and that witnesses reported an argument between a man and a teen boy and the man "reportedly displayed a gun before leaving the scene."

Anyone with information is asked to call Eden Prairie police at 952-949-6200 and speak with an investigator.

Watch the video (warning, strong language)