Hawaiian Wendy’s Employee Dead after Customer Stabbing

Honolulu, HI (WorkersCompensation.com) – A 22-year-old Wendy’s employee is dead after being stabbed by a customer of the restaurant where he worked.

Kashka Otto, of Honolulu, died after a confrontation with 60-year-old Reynaldo Cheney, officials said.

Otto’s death was one of a number of employee deaths over the past week.

Honolulu police said they responded to a call for an argument between a customer and an employee on Sunday. When they arrived, they found Otto stabbed and another employee suffering from a punch. Witnesses said Cheney began moving furniture inside the restaurant when Otto and another employee told him to stop.

The employees then escorted Cheney out of the restaurant. Cheney then confronted Otto and called him a derogatory name. Otto and Cheney got into an argument that continued into the parking lot, officials said. At some point, Otto punched Cheney, officials said. Cheney responded by stabbing Otto.

Otto and his co-worker were taken to a nearby hospital where Otto later succumbed to his injuries.

Otto’s co-workers told local news outlets that he was always smiling and friendly to customers.

“He would always give a smile when taking people’s orders. He was really great. He was a great person,” Wendy’s worker Sophie Tabag said.

Cheney, who is allegedly unhoused, remains in police custody. While Cheney doesn’t have a prior criminal history, officials said he has been cited more than a dozen times for illegal camping in the area. Those in the area said he has lived in a tent near the beach for years.

In California, a gym worker is dead after asking a patron to adhere to the gym’s locker room rules.

Police said a Bay Area man and his mother are in custody after a custodian at a Daly City, Cal., gym died from gunshot wounds. Officials in the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said the man was killed because he talked to the shooter about his violations of the club’s cleanliness rules.

According to Daly City police, around 7 p.m. on Sept. 29, officers were called to Daly City Fitness 19 gym for reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Rolando Viray Yanga, 60, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Yanga had just left the gym where he worked when he was attacked by Maarij Abdullah Afridi.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Afridi was known around the gym for “walking around barefoot, not taking care of cleaning things, putting things in the toilet that didn’t belong there,” and that Yanga had spoken with him about his behavior. After Yanga discussed the situation with him, Afridi decided to kill him, Wagstaffe said.

"The confrontation here was over cleanliness at the gym," Wagstaffe told KTVU.

Investigators used surveillance footage to locate the vehicle that had tailed Yanga as he left the gym and were later able to link it to Afridi. Police arrested Afridi and his 50-year-old mother Zaib Un Nisa Afridi. Police said Zaib Afridi drove the vehicle and is considered an accomplice. The two are being held without bail on murder charges, and are due in court on Wednesday.

In Detroit, a factory worker is dead after a gunfight with a security guard over food delivery.

Police said they were investigating a shooting that stemmed from a late-night dispute over a food delivery to a Detroit factory worker.

Harmond Ulmer, 31, was working at Detroit Manufacturing Systems on Sunday. His mother told reporters from WJBK-TV that her son was hungry and asked a friend to bring him some food. But when the friend arrived, the security guard would not let him in.

Ulmer’s mother said Ulmer drove to the gate. The two men argued, and things escalated to both of them pulling guns on each other. Ulmer was shot and killed. The security guard was taken into police custody.

And in Philadelphia, a ShopRite worker is in critical condition after being shot by a customer in the store’s parking lot.

Police in Philadelphia said the incident happened Monday night. Officials said the 23-year-old victim was working as a cart attendant and was in the parking lot of the ShopRite about an hour before the store was supposed to close.

Surveillance video shows that the victim got into an argument with a 30-year-old customer. As the argument heated up, the customer ended up firing three shots, striking the worker in the stomach, left hand and arm.

"Preliminary information is the shooter does have a valid permit to carry a handgun," Chief Inspector Scott Small with the Philadelphia Police Department told news outlets.

The employee ran into the store after the shooting and was rushed to the hospital. As of Monday, he was in critical condition and had undergone surgery to address some of his injuries.

"The 30-year-old shooter remained on scene and did cooperate with police, so we have the shooter's weapon," Small said.

Police said they are still investigating the incident to determine what was said before the customer pulled out his gun.

Share This Article: