A Waffle House customer fatally shot a worker, police say

LAURINBURG, N.C. — A Waffle House customer fatally shot an 18-year-old employee in North Carolina, police said.

Laurinburg police officers responding to a report of shots fired early Friday found Burlie Dawson Locklear of Red Springs suffering from a gunshot wound, police said in a statement. Locklear died at a hospital.

The investigation found that a customer ordered food and became agitated and verbally abusive toward employees, police said. As the customer walked toward his vehicle after getting his order, police said he turned and fired two shots toward the restaurant, striking Locklear, then fled.

Police were looking for the shooter and have obtained a warrant, news outlets reported.

Locklear was a “victim of an outrageous act of violence,” Waffle House said in a statement.

“The death of our Associate, 18-year-old Burlie Dawson Locklear, known simply as ‘Dawson’ to his friends and family, is horrific,” the company statement said. “We offer our sincerest and deepest sympathy to his family and friends.”