O’Brian Lynch parked after getting his food at a Taco Bell in Baltimore on Aug. 8, 2022. He then noticed something was wrong.

Lynch ordered two chicken tacos; he does not eat red meat. But employees gave him one chicken taco and one beef taco.

So Lynch went inside the fast-food restaurant on Reisterstown Road, paid an additional 60 cents and waited with his arms crossed.

That’s when an employee of the store, Dayquan Harding, started to “verbally accost him,” according to a lawsuit filed April 8 in Baltimore Circuit Court against Taco Bell.

“You are standing there with your arms folded like a real mother------- tough guy,” Harding said to Lynch, the lawsuit alleges.

When Lynch was sitting in his vehicle with his 10-year-old son, the lawsuit asserts, Harding later approached them and pulled out a gun.

Lynch, 55, of Frederick, alleges that he’s struggled with his mental health since the episode and reported that a social worker diagnosed him with adjustment disorder with anxiety. He’s suing on two counts: negligent hiring and retention, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Taco Bell, the lawsuit claims, hired Harding despite his “violent and lengthy criminal history.” And the chain knew or had reason to know he was “combative and pugnacious” and “ill-suited for a position involving regular contact with members of the public.”

When reached on the phone, Lynch said to speak with his attorneys, Trevor Brown and Richard Seitz, who declined to comment.

Taco Bell could not immediately be reached for comment.

Harding, 29, of Southwest Baltimore, pleaded guilty in 2023 in Baltimore Circuit Court to first-degree assault, use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence and illegal possession of a regulated firearm. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

He received another two years in prison for violating his probation on a 2019 conviction for conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Harding is incarcerated at the Baltimore City Correctional Center, according to prison records.

During the hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Galey said Lynch supported the plea agreement.

Michael Munafo, Harding’s attorney, noted that his client has a young son and described what happened as “just bad thinking.”

“You know, Judge, he’s one of those people, when you meet him in person and talk to him, he’s a very nice guy,” Munafo said. “What happened that day was just sporadic.”

“Well, he had a gun,” Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock said.

She later left him with some parting words.

“You need to get out of jail and toe the line. Because you now have a child,” Murdock said. “And that’s the most important thing: being a good role model.”