"HE ASKED us 'do you want to die?' and I said no, not really".
It was the Macca's run that turned ugly for three Wagga friends who were threatened with knives and had their ute stolen from the car park of the fast food chain's Fox Street store in Wagga Wagga at the weekend.
Just hours before the horrific ordeal unfolded, about 12.15am on Sunday, the trio had celebrated a friend's 20th birthday and visited the Victoria Hotel for a couple of drinks.
The designated driver of the Holden Rodeo ute had stopped so they could to grab some food when three figures were seen lurking around the Edward Street side of the car park.
The silhouettes, first thought to be McDonald's employees, suddenly surrounded the ute.
Inside, 18-year-old Jade, 20-year-old Justin and Nick, 21 - whose surnames have been withheld - feared for their lives as weapons were produced and demands were made for them to get out and hand over the keys.
"They all had one," Jade said when asked about the knife police say was used to threaten them. There were three shadows in the dark ... they came over and asked us if we were being racist.
"I had no idea who they were. They dragged Nick out, but me and the other bloke stepped out of the ute.
"He (one of the men) asked us 'do you want to die?' and I said no, not really.
"He told me to get out."
Jade's mother, Marg, said she was disappointed with how the situation was handled by McDonald's staff.
Marg claims staff didn't assist Jade when he ran to the closed fast food outlet for assistance.
Jade, a former McDonald's employee, was reportedly escorted from the store.
"What would have happened if one of them had been stabbed?" Marg said. "Inside McDonald's would have been the safest place for them to be, not in the car park.
"It happened in the car park, he went in there and was thrown out.
"They didn't even get a chance to explain why he went in there."
Jade said he knew the manager, but it didn't make any difference.
"He was more worried about me being in the store ... than what was going on outside," he said. "He just kicked me straight out."
In the minutes that followed, Jade frantically tried to get help.
"I whistled out to them (passing police) and tried to wave them down and they turned around," he said.
Marg described the shock of what happened and warned others to take care.
"Wagga's not safe anymore for kids," she said. "I'd expect that (the armed robbery) to be done in Sydney or Melbourne, not in Wagga."
The ute was stopped by police near Yass, where four people were arrested.
Two 18-year-old men and another, 19, were charged and granted conditional bail, to appear in Wagga Local Court on December 3.
The fourth was released pending further inquiries.
STAFF of the Fox Street McDonald's at the centre of Sunday's armed robbery were simply following procedures, the owner/operator of the Wagga fast food chains says.
Tony Aichinger said employees had acted by the book when they refused a victim of the ordeal entry to the store.
For safety reasons, staff aren't permitted to allow anyone into the restaurant after it has closed, Mr Aichinger said.
"At that time, the police had already been called and the offenders had already gone," he said. "McDonald's safety and security procedures were maintained to ensure the safety of our staff."
Mr Aichinger said Jade's mother, Marg, met with the store manager about the matter yesterday and staff had also been spoken to.
Source: Daily Advertiser, Wagga Wagga