Belleville police arrest woman accused of attacking McDonald’s manager
Belleville police have arrested a woman charged in connection with an attack on a McDonald’s restaurant manager who had sent the woman’s daughter home after she refused to take out the trash.
Tynika R. McKinzie, 35, who was shot during the altercation last week, was brought to the St. Clair County Jail at 4:47 p.m. Tuesday. She has a detention hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.
St .Clair County State’s Attorney Jim Gomric’s office charged McKinzie with two felonies: one count of aggravated battery and one count of mob action.
Belleville Police Lt. Mark Heffernan said McKinzie was “taken into custody by Belleville detectives for outstanding felony warrants related to the incident at McDonald’s on July 16.”
She was booked at the Belleville Police Department and taken to St Clair County Jail, pending further court process.”
Belleville police responded on July 16 to a shots fired call at the McDonald’s restaurant at 125 South Belt East. When police arrived, they learned that a manager and the mother of one of the employees had gotten into an altercation.
Police said the manager discharged a firearm inside the store striking McKinzie in the leg.
A Belleville police investigation determined McKinzie was the aggressor and started the fight that led to the shooting.
Kathy M. Bledsoe, the store manager, told McKinzie’s daughter to take out the trash, police said. The girl refused and Bledsoe told her to clock out. The employee, who police did not identify, called her mother.
McKinzie came to the store with another female, who also was not identified by police.
“A verbal argument ensued in the lobby area of the business. McKinzie and her juvenile daughter went behind the front counter and went 75 feet beyond the counter into the office area of the business,” Heffernan said.
Authorities allege McKinzie battered Bledsoe in the face and head and that Bledsoe produced a gun and fired one shot striking McKinzie in the leg.
Bledsoe was arrested at the scene. McKinzie was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
Bledsoe, 44, of Cahokia Heights was charged with one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. She was released from the county jail after her detention hearing on Monday.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM.
