As she had done dozens of times before, 17-year-old Jihan Abdullahi and her Somali friends met Nov. 19 at the McDonald's in Eden Prairie to grab a snack and socialize.
But before she could pay for her food, she said, a passing insult quickly escalated into a stranger waving a loaded handgun at them.
The stranger, Lloyd E. Johnson, 55, of Eden Prairie, was charged Monday with felony terroristic threats and carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor.
"Mr. Johnson did everything he could to provoke this incident, by insulting the young lady in front of him, to confronting a second person and finally pulling a gun after he already had moved away from the confrontation," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.
"While he is innocent until proven guilty, this is outrageous behavior and it is only through sheer luck that no one was injured by his actions."
Abdullahi and several of her friends spoke publicly about the incident at a news conference Monday, though some of their families were uncomfortable about speaking due to safety concerns.
"I was terrified. I thought we were all going to get shot," she said.
Johnson was charged by summons and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Jan. 10.