Belleville McDonald’s manager bullied employee prior to shooting, lawyer says
The lawyer for the mother of a McDonald’s employee, who was shot by the restaurant’s manager during an altercation, said the employee endured months of abuse that built up to the July 16 incident.
Video footage captured by secruity camera inside the restaurant also showed that the two began fighting in the kitchen and that Tynika McKinzie, the employee’s mother, was walking back toward the front when the manager followed her and shot her in the leg. The manager, Kathy Bledsoe, then walked back to her office and later surrendered to police.
McKinzie, 35, could not personally attend her pre-trial detention hearing Thursday due to her injuries. She was represented in the courtroom, however, by her mother, friends, and her four children, including the McDonald’s employee at the center of the incident.
They were visibly relieved when they heard St. Clair County Judge Sara Rice say that McKinzie would not be held in jail until her trial on single felony counts of aggravated battery and mob action.
According to the charging documents and police reports, Bledsoe instructed the juvenile employee to take trash to the dumpster behind the restaurant at 125 South Belt East in Belleville. When the employee refused, Bledsoe then told her to clock out and go home.
At about 4:45 p.m., Belleville police said, McKinzie arrived and she and Bledsoe argued in the McDonald’s lobby. McKinzie then “battered Bledsoe in the face and head” before pursuing her 75 feet past the service counter. Bledsoe retrieved a 9mm Smith & Wesson and shot McKinzie once in the leg, according to the charging documents.
McKinzie’s defense attorney, Jordan Blazek-Guinan, said McKinzie went to the restaurant to defend her daughter, alleging that Bledsoe had bullied the teenager at work.
“(Bledsoe) made her do more work than others at the store and would call her names,” Blazek-Guinan said. “McKinzie wanted to talk to the manager.”
McKinzie’s mother, Jessie Pitts, also alleged that Bledsoe antagonized the juvenile employee for months prior.
“She asked not to work with her, but got scheduled with (Bledsoe) anyway,” Pitts told a BND reporter prior to the start of the hearing. “This wasn’t just because of a refusal to take out the trash.
“My baby has remorse for what’s happened. It’s affected (Bledsoe’s) livelihood and she just wants to take care of her four kids.”
County prosecutor Levi Carwile cited witnesses who said that when McKinzie arrived, an argument ensued and the pair went behind the counter, out of sight from the public front area.
Bledsoe threatened to shoot McKinzie, according to Blazek-Guinan. That’s when McKinzie began to hit Bledsoe in the head and face, which the restaurant’s security video shows.
Upon seeing the footage, Judge Rice asked Carwile to clarify if “(Bledsoe) followed McKinzie out of the building to the front with a firearm?” Carwile responded that it was “after she was attacked.”
Judge Rice said McKinzie didn’t linger in the kitchen after the altercation.
McKinzie was shot once in the leg and was taken to a hospital for treatment. She was arrested Tuesday.
Bledsoe was released Monday after her pre-trial detention hearing. After authorities found her Firearm Owners Identification card, her charges were reduced to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon without a conceal carry license. She is not being charged with shooting McKinzie, authorities clarified.
McKinzie is facing charges of aggravated battery in a public place and mob action, which means the incident involved more than one person.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM.
