North Carolina pastor allegedly tried to push wifeâs co-worker into McDonaldâs deep fryer

A North Carolina pastor was arrested and charged after being accused of assaulting his wife’s co-worker at McDonald’s, police say.

High Point police said the man’s wife was training to be a manager at McDonald’s when she called her husband for assistance after her employees were “disrespecting her.”

Witnesses told officers that the man entered the restaurant, “walked around the counter and placed his hands around the neck” of an employee, according to a Dec. 28 police report. The man then pushed the employee’s head “toward the deep fryer.”

The man punched the worker several times in the face, witnesses told police. Several employees had to pull him off the employee.

After viewing video footage of the incident, police said they arrested the man for assault. He was charged with one count of assault and battery or simple assault, according to the arrest report.

The man’s Facebook page says he is a pastor in High Point.

The employee “suffered a large contusion to the forehead and right eye, along with scratches on his neck,” police said. First responders arrived, but he opted to let his family take him to the hospital.

The franchise owner said they will continue cooperating with authorities throughout the investigation, according to a statement McDonald’s shared with McClatchy News on Jan. 1.

“The safety and security of our employees and customers is our top priority, and I was appalled by this act of violence in my restaurant last week,” the franchisee said in the statement.

The man’s wife is no longer employed by McDonald’s.