How the battle between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A turned sandwich fans against each other in a tense civil war

What began as an inter-chain fast-food frenzy started to escalate as the sandwich got more popular. Sandwich-crazed fans went to extraordinary lengths to get a chance to taste the item that was poised to take down Chick-fil-A. The lines were massive, the demand almost insatiable.

In the first iteration of the sandwich, Popeyes employees across the nation were sent into overdrive, as many worked nearly 60-hour weeks to fulfill orders.

Around this time, things started to get violent.

"I had customers nearly fight some of my coworkers because they were told that we were not serving the sandwich because we had ran out," a manager at an East Coast Popeyes told Business Insider in August.

After the item sold out in August, the madness compounded.

An angry customer pulled out a gun at a Popeyes in Houston, Texas, apparently after hearing that the sandwich was sold out in early September, local news reported.

"He could have shot someone behind a chicken sandwich," Fredrick Taylor, a resident who lives near the Houston Popeyes, told local news. "Somebody could have lost their life because they ran out of chicken sandwiches."

By the time the sandwich relaunched in November, the players in the war between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A had gone rogue. Popeyes fans turned against their neighbors, and the violence mushroomed into a full-out civil war.

Since the sandwich's relaunch, the violent incidents have continued. Many have resulted from agitated customers wanting to get their hands on the coveted menu item.

Perhaps the worst altercation linked to the sandwich happened the day after its official re-release, when an altercation between two men in line at a Popeyes in Oxon Hill, Maryland, ended in a fatal stabbing. Police confirmed that the incident was related to the release of the sandwich at the restaurant.

"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," said Jennifer Donelan, a spokeswoman for the Prince George's County Police Department.

"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."

At this point, Chick-fil-A is but a distant memory in the the Chicken Sandwich War of 2019, a supporting character that served its purpose in the first act of the drama.

Now, the battle pits Popeyes fans against their peers.

The sandwich hype has yet to fully die down. But amid a fatal stabbing and multiple reports of physical brawls and assault, one can only wonder if the sandwich is more than just a case of viral mania gone wrong.