It has nothing to do with McDonald’s other than the fact that they stay open late at night and provide a place for people to meet, grab a bite to eat and interact.
My little “suburb” does not have a McDonald’s just a Hardee’s. Things are always peaceful there.
The difference is the “meet, eat & greet” takes place in the mornings. The first shift are construction workers and tradesmen, mostly White/Redneck with a few Hispanics and Blacks, on their way to work.
The second shift is, again, mostly White with a few Blacks, but this time they are retirees and stay much longer to “visit”. Both groups are always completely peaceful.
Time of day & demographics are the determining factors, not the fact that it is a fast food restaurant of any particular brand.
That seems to make sense.
This one of course is a pretty isolated incident. Not like it happens every day, or every week.
Retirees staying for hours is actually a problem for McDonald’s in a lot of area, across many demographics.
What part of the country are you in, if you don’t mind my asking?