Photo by NCinDC

A man pepper sprayed an employee at a fried chicken spot in the Atlas District yesterday.

The incident happened around 1:10 p.m. at Crown Fried Chicken on H Street NE “during an apparent customer/merchant dispute,” according to Lieutenant Damion Taylor.

The suspect tried to take money from the restaurant’s tip jar, after saying he left a dollar on a counter, according to Borderstan, which first reported the incident. The worker tried to stop the man, who then shot pepper spray into the employee’s eyes. The victim washed his eyes and is doing fine now, the restaurant’s owner told Borderstan.

D.C. police are searching for a suspect who is described as 35 to 50 years old, and he was wearing a gray jacket or sweater at the time of the incident. He’ll be charged with simple assault.