An abusive boyfriend smashed his Mercedes through the wall of a McDonald’s restaurant before pulling a knife on his partner.
Abbas Hayder Al-Khafaji has admitted to five charges related to the attack on his partner on February 22, 2022, at the fast food restaurant in Narellan, south west of Sydney.
Wild CCTV shows Al-Khafaji crashing his car into the building moments after his partner runs inside.
He then jumps out of the car brandishing a knife before chasing after the woman, who he was wrongly convinced was cheating on him.
McDonald’s employees are seen running for their lives, before a 23-year-old manager steps in to try to calm him down.
The victim, whose identity is protected, told the Campbelltown District Court that she felt “emotionally manipulated” into staying in the relationship.
She explained that Al-Khafaji would turn to drug use and self-harm whenever she tried to end the relationship, but she eventually found the strength to leave.
“Leaving this relationship was not going to be without explosive repercussions,” she said in court on Thursday.
The 27-year-old man from Oran Park has pleaded guilty to charges of using a weapon with the intent to commit a crime, destroying property worth between $5,000 and $15,000, and violating the conditions of a restraining order.
He is facing up to 12 years in jail and will be sentenced at a later date.