On Monday morning, Fox and Friends took the time to run two briefs informing viewers of a man who heroically defended himself and his children after a gunman opened fire at a Birmingham, Alabama McDonald's restaurant, across the street from Princeton Baptist Medical Center.
At 8:40 a.m. Eastern, news reader Jillian Mele began:
A hero dad. So this is about a father at McDonald's with his children, shoots and kills an armed suspect. The unidentified man pulling out his own gun once the shooter opened fire, and this happened in Alabama. An employee is grateful for his bravery.
Then came a soundbite of McDonald's employee, Markus Washington, who witnessed the attack: "I can only imagine how it would have went if he wasn't armed, you know. We might not be here having this interview."
Mele added: "The father and his son both shot but will be okay. He will not face charges." Authorities did not know if the masked man was robbing the store or targeting an employee who worked there.
A few hours later, the story was mentioned on FNC's Outnumbered show. Otherwise, the story has so far not received attention on the other networks, even as the evening newscasts on ABC and CBS covered a school shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina.
