ST. LOUIS — "I'm stunned, you know, because my little brother gets up to go to work every day," said Norman Thomas.
Thomas said for about six years his brother, 25-year-old Deon Thomas, has enjoyed working at the KFC near Delmar and north Kingshighway in the Central West End.
He said Deon started as a cook and then later excelled as assistant manager.
"He loves it," Norman Thomas said. "That's why he worked his way up. He didn't want to go anywhere else. He wanted to work there."
On Monday evening, the business suddenly became a crime scene.
Employees told police a man became angry in the drive-thru when workers told him the restaurant was out of corn.
Police said the man, around 40 or 50 years old, first threatened the employees through the speaker box.
They said the customer then pulled up to the drive-thru window with a gun.
"It's crazy. It's ludicrous," added Norman Thomas.
The drive-thru danger spilled outside.
"It just happened all of a sudden from what I understand," said the worker's brother.
Deon's co-workers told police when he went outside the customer walked up, shot Thomas once in his side, then hopped in a car and drove off.
A KFC employee told 5 On Your Side their boss drove the wounded worker to a hospital.
"It's real sick. I can't understand what's going on with these people today. For him to want to shoot him for corn. What? Really?" Norman Thomas said.
The KFC worker was shot two weeks before his 26th birthday.
Thomas said his brother underwent surgery and is now recovering at a hospital.
In the meantime, he hopes the man who shot his brother over some corn is soon off the streets.
"They need to catch him. It's a blessing my little brother's alive," he said.
Today, the KFC's doors were locked. Only the drive-thru was open to customers.