INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been banned from all Wingstop restaurants in Marion County after getting into a shootout with employees at the 10th Street and Lynhurst Drive location in Indianapolis.
Lawrence Sneed pleaded guilty to pointing a firearm and five other charges were dropped as part of the deal. Sneed was shot and seriously hurt in the incident. He lost a kidney, part of his bowel and had part of his pancreas removed as a result of his injuries.
He was sentenced to 4 days of time served in jail.
When police arrived after the shootout on Jan. 12, they found the front glass of the building was shattered by bullet holes. There were shell casings in the parking lot and more damage inside. Officers found bullet holes in the counter and an interior wall, with plaster blown from the wall.
According to witnesses and employees, Sneed came into the business and appeared intoxicated. There was an argument between him and the employees over their system being down and him needing to order online. As the argument escalated, Sneed was told to leave. An employee said Sneed pushed him in the face, but he was able to get the door closed. The employee told officers as he went to lock the door, he saw Sneed reach to try and open the door and pull out a gun. He said his fellow employee then started shooting at Sneed and Sneed fired back.
In the court documents, police said they looked at surveillance video and saw Sneed arguing with employees before the shooting. Video also allegedly showed one of the employees firing from inside the restaurant at someone outside. The employee told police he was "trying to protect his co-workers." Employees told police they were concerned Sneed was going to try and hurt them.
Sneed, who was wounded in the shooting and hospitalized, allegedly told investigators at the hospital that he was on medication and had been drinking that day, but "didn't know why someone would shoot over some food." He later told officers he could see how employees and customers would be concerned about their safety from his actions leading up to the shooting, according to court documents.
