Police released this photo of a man who allegedly threatened to shoot a McDonald's worker if he didn't get free food.

A McDonald's customer allegedly threatened to shoot a drive-through worker if he didn't give him free food.

On September 30, at about 2.45am, the offender drove into the drive-through at McDonald's on Stoddard Rd in Mt Roskill, Auckland.

Constable Don Allan said the man approached the first window to place an order.

CHRIS GORMAN/STUFF The offender entered the drive-through at about 2.45am on September 30 demanding free food.

"He demanded free food from the victim and told him to make it appear on their system that he had paid for it," Allan said.

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"After being told he could not do this, the offender became very aggressive and threatened to shoot the victim."

At that point a colleague saw what was going, Allan said.

"The offender then began reaching into the rear of the vehicle which caused the two workers to fear for their safety," he said.

The McDonald's workers gave the offender several bags of food.

McDonald's spokesman Simon Kenny said it was assisting police with the investigation.

"Staff are trained to manage potentially dangerous situations, and the person involved has been offered support, including counselling," Kenny said.

The alleged offender was driving a Nissan Primera with the registration AGF960.

In July the Westgate McDonald's was targeted by a group of four offenders armed with various tools. They threatened staff before fleeing the scene with an undisclosed amount of money in a stolen car.

The car was found later that morning.

In September Dagan Wesley McArthur, 32, was arrested after allegedly robbing the drive-through operator at Thames' McDonald's restaurant of more than $1000.

If you have any information that could help the police with its investigation into the Stoddard Rd robbery, contact Auckland City Police on 09 302 6400, or you can provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Alternatively you can email donald.allan@govt.nz.