Taco Bell Beef: Teenage boy faces charges after pulling gun on Taco Bell employee

It began with a messed up drive-thru order.

And it ended with at least nine patrol cars surrounding a Jeep and detaining four juveniles. Of those four teenagers, one will face second-degree assault charges on suspicion of pointing a gun at a employee at Taco Bell, 6614 N. Division St.

Lt. Terry Preuninger of the Spokane police said officers pulled over a car with four juveniles inside and conducted a "high-risk traffic stop" after receiving a call from employees of Taco Bell. Preuninger said police towed the juveniles' car and plan to search it in the coming days to locate the reported firearm. A heavy police presence could be seen Monday at the intersection of Division Street and Everett Avenue , across from Franklin Park.

"It was not a robbery," Preuninger said of the incident. "It was an altercation inside."

A Taco Bell manager said he welcomed the teenagers into the Taco Bell lobby to wait as employees remade their food order around 4:15 p.m. Monday. Within a matter of minutes, one of the girls in the group claimed that a Taco Bell employee had called her by an offensive name.

Camera footage shows one of the boys walking into the kitchen and confronting an employee making tacos. The manager is seen grabbing the boy by his shirt and shoving him out of the kitchen.

The party of teenagers was then asked to leave the restaurant. Preuninger said once the group left, at least one boy came back into the Taco Bell, produced a firearm from his bookbag and pointed the weapon at an employee.

After threatening the lives of employees inside the Taco Bell, the group departed, Preuninger said. They were apprehended not long after leaving.

The Monday night Taco Bell drama did not conclude there, however.

Around 9 p.m. Monday, Preuninger said "associates" of the juveniles returned to the Taco Bell and attempted to incite a fight with the employees working there. Those associates will most likely face malicious mischief charges in the coming days, he said.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 7:14 PM.