DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A kind-hearted fast-food employee who gave free eats to an irate patron was paid back by him striking her with his cane and calling her a “Muslim b---h,” police and the worker said.
Shagufta Riaz, 42, was working the register during the closing shift at Checkers 111 Court St. around 2 a.m. Saturday when the suspect and his friend walked in asking for food, she and police said.
The man had some money but not enough, so Riaz gave handed over some food free of charge and he left, Riaz explained.
However, the suspect and his friend came back an hour later asking for the bathroom key after he had been drinking alcohol outside, she said.
She told the man she couldn’t open the bathroom since it was closing time, so he became upset and started yelling profanities, Riaz recounted.
At one point, he called her a "Pakistani" and a “Muslim b----,” and started demanding even more free food, the worker said.
“He said, ‘OK, I’m stranded here, I need some food,’” Riaz recalled. “He was so angry and so was the other person.”
While her fellow employees said they couldn’t give him any, she convinced her coworkers to hand some over.
“I said, ‘Take the food and go outside,’” Riaz said.
Still, the man continued to yell at Riaz and whacked her with his cane from behind the counter before walking out.
Riaz was treated for swelling and bruising at Woodhull Medical Center, police said.
Despite some lingering pain, the single mother said she went back to work the next day.
“I had pain," she said, "but I am a strong woman so I don’t care."
The suspect had not been arrested as of Thursday, police said.
