Employee attacks restaurant owners with meat cleaver

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The owners of the China Park restaurant in Winter Haven survived an attack with a meat cleaver after an employee attacked them.

Winter Haven police said it happened Tuesday around 9:30 p.m. 

Police said Zheng Shan and Jia Dong, the owners of China Park, were in the restaurant's kitchen with Zhong Huang - a temporary employee the owners hired through an agency in New York. 

Shan and Dong said they decided to offer Huang a full-time position, after he had been working at China Park for only two days.

To complete the employment process, Shan asked Huang for his ID card, but Huang apparently became upset, refused to provide his identification, and started yelling at Shan. That's when Dong stepped in and told Huang to leave the restaurant.

Surveillance video from inside the restaurant's kitchen shows what appears to be the three arguing.

Dong apparently told Huang to leave, or the couple would call police. Dong turned to go to the front of the restaurant, and Huang picked up a meat cleaver and began swinging at Dong.

Investigators say Huang began yelling he was going to kill the couple. 

Shan ran to help Dong, and Huang began swinging the cleaver at her, as well.

After the three struggled, Huang let go of the cleaver and told them he would come back and kill them if they called police. He left through the front door and they called police.

Dong had an injury on his neck and Shan had an injury on her hand, but neither were seriously hurt.

When police got there, they found Huang at the back door of the restaurant and he was taken to the Polk County Jail on charges of attempted second degree murder and tampering in a felony second degree proceeding.