1 of 2 customers allegedly shot, killed by Wrightwood restaurant employee ID'd

Thursday, October 10, 2024 5:11PM CT
CHICAGO (WLS) -- One of the customers who was allegedly fatally shot by an employee of a popular fast-food restaurant on Chicago's South Side earlier this week has been identified.

David Swick, 56, was shot and killed inside a JJ Fish and Chicken in the Wrightwood neighborhood near 79th Street and Western Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. Monday, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and Chicago police said.



Police said the shooting happened after an argument between a customer and an employee, 42-year-old Mehdi Medellel.

Police said two customers started arguing with Medellel, and he, at some point, pulled out a handgun and fired shots. The two customers, a 57-year-old man and a 56-year-old man, were shot in their heads and died at the scene.



Police initially said one of the men was 55.

Another worker at the fast-food restaurant got word of what happened on Tuesday morning.

"I don't know why this happened or why he did what he did, what made him do what he do," she said.

She did not want to be identified, and said she was not working at the time. But, she knew one of the customers who was killed.

"He sat in there with me every day. Sometimes, I fed him. He was homeless. He didn't harm nobody or anything," the worker said.



John Grant lives nearby and knows the area well.

"You know, those peoples in there are really nice people, and their food is pretty decent. So, I go there all the time," Grant said. "On this particular corner, you have to watch your back. You know, it's always something."

CPD said Medellel has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The other victim has not yet been publicly identified.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.

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