CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Mecklenburg County District Attorney will now decide if a McDonald's employee will face charges for shooting and killing an armed robbery suspect.

Police said 20-year-old Donte McFadden walked into the McDonald’s on Freedom Drive in west Charlotte around 10 p.m. Thursday wearing a hoodie over his head, gloves and a pair of sunglasses. They say he tried to hold up the restaurant at gunpoint when a worker, armed with a handgun, began a shootout. McFadden and a woman working in the restaurant were both shot.

Medic transported the two to Carolinas Medical Center. McFadden died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The worker was hospitalized, but her injuries are not serious, police said.

Police have not released the name of the employee who shot at McFadden, but they say he was not injured. Investigators said there were other employees as well as customers inside the restaurant, but none of them were hurt.

The owner of the McDonald’s wouldn’t say whether there’s a policy at the store about employees having weapons. But Gordon Thurston did say, “I take matters concerning the safety and security of my customers and employees very seriously,” and he called the shootout an “unfortunate incident.”

Many customers on Friday said they think the worker did the right thing under the circumstances.

“I think everybody ought to have a gun. When somebody comes in, get them,” said Maggie Adams. “I would shoot them if it was me.”

But customer James Stitt believes having a weapon brings more danger than safety.

“I look at the overall picture of people that could actually have gotten hurt with the shootout – other employees, customers – so it produced a greater danger than the robbery itself,” he said.

In the past, the district attorney has rarely charged a person with murder in such cases. North Carolina law says it’s legal to use deadly force if you feel your life is being threatened.