HOUSTON — A dispute over curly fries led to shots fired at a Jack In The Box drive-thru near Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Surveillance video was released Monday of a Florida family being shot at by a former employee. The incident happened two years ago and the employee was charged, but we're just now seeing the video thanks to a pending lawsuit.
"It’s been very traumatizing for me and my family,” said Jeraldin Ospina.
The shooting happened in March 2021.
Anthony Ramos was in Houston working after the February winter storm. He’d just picked up his pregnant wife and their 6-year-old daughter from the airport before stopping at the Jack In The Box on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. After pulling up to the drive-thru window, several minutes go by and in the video, which is nearly 23 minutes long, you see the restaurant worker get into an argument with Ramos, who was in the driver’s seat.
After a few more minutes, you can see the worker, Alonniea Ford, pull a gun from her waist and appear to cock it as she walks away from the window. About 3 minutes pass before you see another worker come to the window to talk to Ramos. Ford comes back to the window and stands behind the other woman, the video shows. At some point, it seems Ford begins shouting at Ramos again, and that’s when he throws ketchup packets and a drink through the window at the women. Ford throws some of the items back at Ramos. The other woman closes the window and appears to lock it. Then Ford pulls the gun from her waist, opens the window and starts shooting at Ramos’ truck. Ramos speeds away, the video shows.
"It was a very scary moment," said Ospina. "Somebody could’ve gotten hurt. We almost lost somebody's life over some curly fries.”
Ford was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was given probation and deferred adjudication, but the lawsuit cites a previous conviction that Ospina, Ramos and their attorney believe Jack In The Box should have caught.
"Unless they are actually okay with having people who plead guilty to terroristic threat and have them interact with customers,” said attorney Randall Kallinen.
Ospina and Ramos want the fast-food chain to tighten its hiring policies and pay them for, among other things, emotional distress.
They haven't been back to a Jack In The Box.
"Never," said Ramos.
We reached out to Jack In The Box’s media team regarding the incident and lawsuit but have not heard back.
Watch the entire surveillance video of the incident below: