Police confirm that a deadly stabbing at Popeyes was linked to the return of the chicken sandwich

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

An argument over the line for a Popeyes sandwich turned deadly.

• A man was stabbed to death on Monday after an argument broke out in the line for Popeyes' relaunched chicken sandwich.
• Police confirmed late Monday night that they had determined the deadly stabbing was related to the release of Popeyes' chicken sandwich.
• The wildly popular chicken sandwich returned to menus on Sunday.
• "There is no reason for someone to lose their life on a Monday night in a parking lot," Popeyes said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the victim's family and friends and we are fully cooperating with local authorities."
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An argument between two men waiting in line for a Popeyes chicken sandwich turned deadly on Monday evening.

Two men were arguing inside a Popeyes in Oxon Hill, Maryland on Tuesday evening, Prince George's County Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan told press late Monday night.

The disagreement was apparently sparked when one person cut in front of the other in line, Donelan said.

The argument spilled out into the street, with one man stabbing the other. The victim, a 28-year-old man, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"We have determined, preliminarily, that this is related to the release of the sandwich here at this restaurant," Donelan told press.

"That this individual was in line, a line specifically for the sale of the sandwich, when another customer - and he got into an altercation, and that ended with the victim being stabbed outside of the business."

Police are asking that the man who stabbed the victim to turn himself in. Donelan said that she had not spoken to Popeyes, and that police are focusing on finding the person who stabbed the victim.

"For you to get that angry over anything, for that type of anger to develop into this type of violence, is a very sad and tragic day," Donelan said.

Popeyes' chicken sandwich returned to menus on Sunday. The heavily-hyped sandwich caused chaos in many stores the first time around, with customers mobbing stores. In mid-August, the sandwich ran out after just two weeks.

"We are very sad to hear about the tragedy in Maryland tonight," Popeyes said in a statement on Monday evening.

"We do not yet know whether this was the result of a dispute over one of our products or something unrelated, but there is no reason for someone to lose their life on a Monday night in a parking lot. Our thoughts are with the victim's family and friends and we are fully cooperating with local authorities."