When buying food from a fast food restaurant, you’re not expecting the quality to be the absolute best but it still needs to be edible. A man ended up needing hospital treatment after buying and eating burritos from Taco Bell that contained rat poison.
The Denver Police Department is currently investigating the case and have deemed it a “criminal attempt homicide” while they figure out whether the rat poison was put into his food at the restaurant in Colorado.
The customer visited the Taco Bell location at 1 p.m. on January 15, 2023, and ended up arguing with workers and other customers about his food order. Restaurant manager Lary Swift said the man “wanted something free” as the drinks station was not working. The customer was a regular and has caused problems at the restaurant before, including a time when he threw a taco at one of the workers.
Sheriff Deputy John Bartmann said that the man became “violently ill” and was rushed to the hospital after eating the food at around 7 p.m. that evening. “That hospital said they had a patient who has possibly consumed rat poison in his food from the same restaurant,” Bartmann said.
Police closed the restaurant later on Sunday evening, which had Swift claiming that the whole situation was “ridiculous.” He has since been outspoken about the situation and upset that police were alleging that Taco Bell had “poisoned somebody.” “We don’t carry poison in the restaurant,” Swift said.
The restaurant has since turned over its security footage to the authorities.
A Taco Bell spokesperson released a statement saying: “The safety of customers and team members is a priority. The franchisee who owns and operates this location has informed us that they are working with local authorities in their investigation.”
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taco-ball-rat-poison-takeout-order-customer-hospitalized/