Drive-thru argument turns deadly at Missouri Steak 'n Shake, worker killed

A late-night drive-thru dispute over onion rings turned a routine shift at a Spanish Lake Steak ’n Shake into a deadly workplace shooting, leaving 32-year-old Chauncia La’Shell Meekins dead and a co-worker wounded.

St. Louis County police said the shooting happened around 11:30 to 11:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the restaurant in the 11000 block of Bellefontaine Road in north St. Louis County. Investigators said an occupant of a vehicle fired through the drive-thru window after an argument with employees. Meekins was pronounced dead at the scene. A second worker, an adult male co-worker, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Family members said the dispute began when a customer demanded a second order of onion rings and allegedly did not intend to pay for them. Meekins’ mother, Tamela Washington, said the restaurant manager later told her that eight shots were fired. The details matter because they show how quickly a simple service dispute can become lethal when workers are left exposed at a drive-thru window, with little control over who is in the car or how far a confrontation can go.

Meekins had worked at the Steak ’n Shake for about three to four months, according to family and local reporting. She also worked at Family Dollar and lived in Bellefontaine Neighbors. Her 33rd birthday would have been April 23. For restaurant crews already juggling understaffing, late-night rushes and difficult customers, the killing cut to a hard truth: front-line employees are often expected to stay calm, keep orders moving and absorb hostility, even when the person on the other side of the window turns violent.

Police had not announced an arrest in the immediate aftermath and asked anyone with information to come forward. In the days that followed, family and community members gathered at the Spanish Lake location for a memorial release, and local reporting said the owner later decided to close the restaurant. The killing has shaken a job that is already high-pressure and low-margin, especially for workers handling late-night drive-thru service where a small dispute can become a fatal one in seconds.