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Hyattsville McDonald's guard charged with killing man who he asked to leave

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What to know about Hyattsville McDonald's guard charged with killing man who he asked to leave

A security guard working inside a Hyattsville McDonald’s has been charged with murder after police say he shot a man during a fight Saturday night.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A security guard working inside a Hyattsville McDonald’s has been charged with murder after police say he shot a man during a fight Saturday night.

Why it matters

Police say the security guard initiated the fight after the man refused to leave the restaurant, hitting the unarmed man with a baton before shooting him once in the chest.

Common ground

Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.



fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 1
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Claim 1: “employees of the McDonald’s in the 2300 block of University Boulevard asked a man to leave.”
CORROBORATED
The location (2300 block of University Boulevard) and the fact that employees asked the man to leave are confirmed by DC News Now and other web search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list of Brigham Young University buildings catalogs the current and no-longer-existent structures of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private, coeducational research university owned by the Chur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brigham_Young_Universi…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following were moose in the Moose in the City program in Toronto, Ontario in 2000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Moose_in_the_City
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — St. Louis (officially the City of St. Louis) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 2: “Francois was ordered held without bond.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 3: “In a video posted to Instagram by @Code3DMV, the final seconds of the fight are captured by a person recording the footage on their cellphone.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
While sources mention the incident was captured on video, none of the provided evidence specifically mentions an Instagram account @Code3DMV.
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Claim 4: “The court document says Francois, of Gaithersburg, was employed by Strategic Security Corp.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
While sources confirm Francois is from Gaithersburg, none of the provided evidence mentions 'Strategic Security Corp'.
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Claim 5: “five minutes after the security guard used pepper spray on Clemons, the two got into a battle, with the security guard pulling out a baton and striking Clemons several times.”
CORROBORATED
Court documents cited in multiple web search results confirm that five minutes after the pepper spray, a fight ensued where the guard struck Clemons several times with a baton.
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web search NEUTRAL — According to a court document filed in the case, five minutes after the security guard used pepper spray on Clemons, the two got into a battle, with the security guard pulling out a baton and striking…
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/mcdonalds-security-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The incident was captured on video, also according to the document. The victim has been identified as Ricardo Clemons Jr., 45. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The security guard has been identifi…
https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/security-guard-mcdonald…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Investigators say 54-year-old Murwanashyaka Francois of Gaithersburg, a security guard for the business, shot 45-year-old Ricardo Clemons Jr. during an altercation. Officers found Clemons Jr. at the s…
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/security-guard-charged-murder-af…
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Claim 6: “Police say the security guard initiated the fight after the man refused to leave the restaurant, hitting the unarmed man with a baton before shooting him once in the chest.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that the guard initiated the fight, hit the unarmed man with a baton, and shot him once in the chest is reported by multiple sources, including a detailed report and WRC reports cited in NewsBreak.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Police say the security guard initiated the fight after the man refused to leave the restaurant, hitting the unarmed man with a baton before shooting him once in the chest.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/mcdonalds-security-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Shove Drejka shot Marquis McGlockton after being shoved to the ground and claimed self-defense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWZfGBeHQYk
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web search NEUTRAL — A 33-year-old Army veteran from Mississippi who served in Iraq shot himself in the head live on Facebook — and social media sites are still scrambling to remove the harrowing footage, which went viral…
https://globalazmedia.com/2020/09/08/facebook-live-suicide-v…
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Claim 7: “A security guard working inside a Hyattsville McDonald’s has been charged with murder after police say he shot a man during a fight Saturday night.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (FOX 5 DC, DC News Now, and another web source) confirm that a security guard at a Hyattsville McDonald's was charged with murder for shooting a man during a fight on a Saturday night.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, creative producer, filmmaker and director who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Henson
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1981 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Saturday, April 11, 1981, at the Levitt Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The game's rosters featured the best and most hig…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_McDonald's_All-American_B…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1985 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Saturday, April 13, 1985 at the Moody Coliseum in University Park, Texas. The game's rosters featured the best and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_McDonald's_All-American_B…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “The charging document filed in court says the man, 45-year-old Ricardo Clemons Jr., was a regular in the McDonald’s and “was often asked to leave due to loitering.””
CORROBORATED
Court records cited by both a web search source and NewsBreak/WRC-TV confirm the victim was 45-year-old Ricardo Clemons Jr., a regular who was often asked to leave for loitering.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Florida gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Florida. Primary elections took place on August 18, 2026. Incumbent governor Ron DeSantis is ineligib…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Florida_gubernatorial_ele…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list of University of Florida alumni includes current students, former students, and graduates of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Honorary degree recipients can be found on the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Florida_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An inmate is considered to have exhausted their appeals if their sentence has fully withstood the appellate process; this involves either the inmate's conviction and death sentence withstanding each s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_death_row_inmates_in_t…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “At 8:25 p.m. Saturday, Prince George's County police say the security guard, 54-year-old Murwanashyaka Francois, asked Clemons to leave and when he refused, “deployed pepper spray in the decedent's face.””
CORROBORATED
The specific time (8:25 p.m.), the guard's name (Murwanashyaka Francois), age (54), and the use of pepper spray are reported across multiple news sources.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — At 8:25 p.m. Saturday, Prince George's County police say the security guard, 54-year-old Murwanashyaka Francois, asked Clemons to leave and when he refused, “deployed pepper spray in the decedent's fa…
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/mcdonalds-security-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Investigators say 54-year-old Murwanashyaka Francois of Gaithersburg, a security guard for the business, shot 45-year-old Ricardo Clemons Jr. during an altercation. Officers found Clemons Jr. at the s…
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/security-guard-charged-murder-af…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Bravebo told WTTG-TV, "At this time, we have no evidence that the decedent in this case was armed and was a true threat in terms of the life of the securi…
https://www.newsbreak.com/true-crime-news-560766/38404425256…
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Claim 10: “The two then exchanged blows before the security guard pulled out his gun and fired once.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the exchange of blows followed by the security guard firing a gun once, with some noting this was captured on video.
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web search NEUTRAL — This was all captured on video, according to the document. The two then exchanged blows before the security guard pulled out his gun and fired once. Clemons was pronounced dead at the scene.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/mcdonalds-security-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Murwanashyaka Francois, 54, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 45-year-old Ricardo Clemons Jr.
https://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f166/mcdonalds-secu…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Francois put on gloves and tried to make contact with Clemons, but backed off once Clemons turned toward him. He then drew his ASP baton and Clemons laid on the floor, leading Francois to reholster th…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/charging-docs-security-guard-accu…
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Claim 11: “Clemons was pronounced dead at the scene.”
CORROBORATED
FOX 5 DC, Just The News, and The MoCo Show all independently confirm that Ricardo Clemons Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene.
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web search NEUTRAL — Officers found Clemons Jr. at the scene with a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Francois has been charged with second-degree murder and related offenses. He is currently in the cust…
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/security-guard-charged-murder-af…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The incident was captured on video, also according to the document. The victim has been identified as Ricardo Clemons Jr., 45. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/security-guard-mcdonald…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — He was pronounced dead on the scene. The preliminary investigation revealed Francois shot Clemons Jr during the altercation.
https://mocoshow.com/2025/03/03/gaithersburg-man-working-as-…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.