HICKORY, N.C. — A man has been charged after police say he used a racial slur and threatened to shoot a 15-year-old working at a Zaxby’s drive-thru in Hickory.
Police said they got a report on Sunday that 53-year-old Jimmy Mott had threatened the teenage employee at the Zaxby’s on Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard off Interstate 40.
According to investigators, Mott called Zaxby’s management to complain after leaving the drive-thru. They said he used a racial slur and threatened to shoot the teen who took his order.
The teen’s mother, Jessica Terry, told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that she still can’t believe what happened to her daughter.
“My daughter was standing outside taking orders. She approached a vehicle ... stated her name and said she was there to take his order. He looked at her and stated that ‘This is some BS,’” Terry said. “To have my 15-year old daughter calling me afraid basically on the phone just was really blowing my mind.”
Hickory- a man has been charged with ethnic intimidation after an incident at a fast food restaurant drive thru where police say a customer used a racial slur and threatened to shoot an employee. Watch channel 9 for updates. pic.twitter.com/ZUXWfA0u0v
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) January 5, 2021
Terry says she tracked down Mott who had returned to work nearby. She took cellphone video of him and posted it on Facebook.
“Why do you think it is appropriate for you to talk with a 15-year old child...call her the N-word and call Zaxby’s and tell them you’d shoot her,?” Terry asked in the video.
She said she also spoke to her daughter about the importance of not judging others because of their skin color.
“I do not want her thinking that way. I explained to her there are some people out in this world who are just not good people,” Terry said.
Mott has been charged with ethnic intimidation. He was arrested and given a $1,500 unsecured bond.
The owner of the Zaxby’s sent Channel 9 a statement saying in part, “The safety of our team members is of utmost importance to us. We were disturbed to learn of a threat made to one of our team members at are thankful for the quick and decisive action of our management team.”
Cox Media Group
