An altercation between two patrons this morning brought six to eight Brookings police officers, a Curry County sheriff’s deputy and a trooper from Oregon State Police to the McDonalds drive-thru when one party reached for his gun.

Though the patron, an 85-year-old Nevada man, brandished his gun, it wasn’t loaded, Brookings Police Sgt. Mike Pereda told the Wild Rivers Outpost. The other man involved in the incident, a 61-year-old from California, declined to press charges. The 85-year-old man was cited for disorderly conduct and released after officers seized his firearm, Pereda said.

“The 85-year-old male from Nevada was parked behind our victim and started honking his horn, upset at the length of time it was taking for him to get his food,” Pereda said. “The 61-year-old male from California got out of his vehicle to confront the 85-year-old male in the vehicle behind him who was honking his horn and the 61-year-old claims he heard or saw a pistol being racked, or saw a pistol.”

Officers responded to the restaurant at 815 Chetco Avenue at about 9:39 a.m.

According to Pereda, they conducted a high-risk stop in the parking lot and removed the Nevada man from his car. The 85-year-old admitted to grabbing his gun from the center consul and brandishing it at the 61-year-old California man, Pereda said. But, the sergeant repeated, it wasn’t loaded.

While law enforcement did approach the vehicle with their guns drawn, it wasn’t pointed at anyone, Pereda said. The 61-year-old didn’t want to pursue charges against the Nevada man, Pereda said, but police are forwarding information to the Curry County District Attorney’s Office to see if he will pursue additional charges.

“The 85-year-old got scared and as a defensive tool pulled his gun, but didn’t point it at anybody,” Pereda said. “We’re thankful for the adjoining agencies who are willing to help when we get those calls. We thank OSP and Curry County for assisting.”

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