That America and Americans are on the boil is indubitable. A heady concoction of a civilization in decay, the seemingly unending ills of capitalism and freely available guns have made the stars and stripes a blood-stained entity, littered with everyday instances of gun violence. As the bullets fly- for the most mundane reasons- one wonders why the nation has gone rogue, almost hurtling off-the-rails with every passing day. Gun-wielding has become so widespread that it’s become the best way to settle any conflict.

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The most recent example comes from a Mcdonald’s outlet in New York. After 23-year-old waiter Matthew Webb served a woman a cold plate of french fries, her son marched to the outlet, starting an argument with Webb. After sufficient escalation, the son shot Webb in the neck with a 9 mm handgun. Immediately rushed to Brookdale Hospital, he remains in critical condition.

As per reports, the woman was on FaceTime with her son when receiving her plate of fries. Her 20-year-old son, identified as Michael Morgan, rushed to the scene. He fled after shooting the waiter in the neck, but New York Police soon caught up with the runaway shooter.

“The mom complained that the fries were cold. The mom was on FaceTime with her son, and he heard the dispute between her and the clerk. The son and the clerk got into a dispute inside, and it went outside,” New York Police officials told New York Post.

The suspected shooter had 12 arrests before this incident but seemed keen on adding another to the list. His mother claims to have not seen the shooting but attests to hearing the gunshot, as per eyewitness reports. Another eyewitness described the scene after the shooting. A man took off his shirt to stem the bleeding, but young Webb was shaking uncontrollably.

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If getting shot for serving a cold plate of fries sounds absurd- even by American standards- it follows a similar incident when a Subway worker was shot dead by a customer for spreading too much mayonnaise in his sandwich.