Viral Video Captures Chick-fil-A Employee Stopping a Carjacking — And It's Not the First Time He's Come to a Customer's Rescue The perpetrator has been charged with battery and carjacking with a weapon.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
A woman was taking her baby out of her car at a Chick-fil-A in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Wednesday when she was approached by a man with a stick attempting to steal her vehicle.
But Chick-fil-A employee Mykel Gordon didn't hesitate to step in when he heard the woman's screams, Okaloosa County sheriff's office shared via Facebook post, and, per The Washington Post, it's not the first time Gordon has come to a customer's rescue.
Gordon put the man, identified as 43-year-old William Branch, in a headlock to subdue him. The perpetrator punched Gordon in the face during the altercation, but he was not seriously injured, nor were the woman or any bystanders. Branch has been charged with battery and carjacking with a weapon and remained jailed as of early Thursday.
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A one-minute video filmed by a bystander captures Gordon's heroic act.
"A major shout-out to this young man for his courage!" the sheriff's office wrote.
Back in September 2018, Gordon responded to another emergency outside of the Fort Walton Beach Chick-fil-A. He was taking orders when a crane fell onto another car with a teenage driver and her friend inside, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
Operating on "instinct," Gordon ran to the car to carry one of the girls to safety, and he and other bystanders intervened to help the other girl escape.
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Gordon told the paper he'd learned how to react from his stepfather, who was in the military. "When this happened I knew exactly what to do because of him," he said. "I thank God."
