New York man caught threatening McDonald's patrons with ax released without bail

A man who weilded an ax at a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side was released without bail at his arraignment, according to authorities.  The New York Post reported that Michael Palacios, 31, who allegedly grabbed an ax and wrecked the Delancey Street restaurant early Friday, was arraigned on fourth-degree criminal-mischief and possession-of-weapons charges and freed hours later.

According to police, no one was hurt in the incident. However, under New York state’s lenient criminal-justice "reforms", neither charge is eligible for bail. 



According to the criminal complaint, Palacios slammed two tables and a plate-glass partition and told police, “I have a pocket knife in my bike.”

A New York City man got into a fight early Saturday morning which saw him reach into his backpack and grab an axe, which he then wielded in a threatening manner around patrons and chopped into parts of the McDonalds, causing damage.

According to the New York Post, 31-year-old Bronx native Michael Palacios was later identified as the axe bearer who, in one moment of the episode which was caught on video got into a bystander's face, a woman, and shouted "Don’t be afraid of me, be afraid of him!"



The incident took place at the Delancey Street McDonald’s around 2:25 am on Saturday morning. Three men were in a minor scuffle with Palacios, who escalted the conflict by throwing a punch. The three men then began slapping and punching Palacios' face. 

He stood and idly smirked as the men quit hitting. When they were finished he calmly walked over to his backpack and grabbed the axe. One of the aggressive men backtracked and said, "Bro, please! You better chill!"

Palacios then terrorized patrons with the axe, getting into their faces, and smashed various edifices, causing property damage in the thousands of dollars.

The episode was shot by TikTok by user Shakes McGoo who added, "NYC always good for some chaotic mayhem. He didn’t hurt anybody, but could have been ugly."

An onlooker can be heard saying "That’s why I keep my knife on me all the time," while not doing anything with the knife to protect the bystanders. 

Michael Palacios, who goes by the handle @ontheblockwithsoho, relished the attention on social media as his video garnered 12 million views.

"I just wanted to get a buy one get one for $1 with a diet coke with my man's e-money when this gang attacked me. @mcdonalds," Palacios wrote.

In his post on Instagram he wrote, "After the 5 minute police chase through the lower East side @nypd told me 'that was fun chase'. They didn't hurt me off the bike with their car as they tailed me in circles around Delaney."

"Btw I came out the precinct and the cops gave me props. 'dude you went viral!'" he added along with, "Also you gun nuts are psychopaths. If I had a gun, I'd use it like an axe."

Palacios has been arrested before for resisting arrest and was charged with three counts of menacing, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of criminal mischief

The video of the incident caught the attention of New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, who tweeted, “Just another day in Kathy Hochul’s New York. After we fire Hochul on November 8th, we are taking back our streets!”