A British McDonald’s security guard has gone viral after he was filmed aggressively mopping the ground where a homeless man was camped — leaving his blankets soaked in water and bleach.
Aaron McCarthy, 25, had been sitting on a sidewalk near the entrance to one of the fast food chain’s London sites Saturday night when the McDonald’s employee approached him and asked him to move.
Footage shot by a passerby showed the security guard suddenly kicking McCarthy’s blankets away before using the mop to douse the sidewalk with the soapy water.
“The guy started mopping the floor and kicking my stuff into the water. It was disgusting,” McCarthy told the Telegraph in the aftermath.
“I had to leave because it was so stressful, and I hardly slept the entire night because my bedding was all soaked. You can still smell the bleach on my blanket.”
In the video, witnesses could be heard slamming the incident as “outrageous” and “bang out of order.”
Damon Evans, who posted the footage on X, tagged McDonald’s UK to express his outrage.
“Do you think it is acceptable for your staff to soak the sleeping bags of homeless people in the middle of winter (or any other time of the year)?” he asked.
“Disgusting behavior. He wasn’t even outside your premises.”
McDonald’s later apologized for the ordeal, saying it was “shocked and saddened” by the footage.
“The third-party security guards involved have been permanently removed from our restaurants and the restaurant team has been reminded of the importance of treating all people with respect, including vulnerable people both in the restaurant and within the wider community,” the fast food chain said in a statement on X.
“We would like to wholeheartedly apologize to the gentleman in the video and will work with the council to locate him and make amends as part of our ongoing work to support homelessness charities in & around the area.”
