Social media users are divided over the story of a young Georgia father who left his three children unattended at a McDonald’s restaurant playground so he could go to a job interview.

Chris Louis, 24, was arrested after leaving the children, ages 1, 6, and 10, at the restaurant after walking them there from his apartment in Augusta just before 4:30 p.m. on March 22, per The Augusta Press. A witness saw Louis leave the children, then return to check on them before leaving again. 

Law enforcement was dispatched to the location after receiving a call from a concerned customer. They were waiting for Louis when he returned to the McDonald’s again at 6:20 p.m. The father told police he didn’t want the children to walk back home alone while he had the job interview. Officers waited at the restaurant until the mother arrived and picked up the children.

Louis was arrested and charged with deprivation of a minor.

The story has inspired a lot of conversation online, with users arguing both sides of the situation. Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown put his support behind Louis and started a GoFundMe to help his cause.

“Story caught me by surprise. A dad just trying to find a way to make money for his family. I know he shouldn’t just leave his kids, but some people don’t have the means for babysitting, etc,” Brown wrote on GoFundMe, which is titled “Pursuit of Happiness.” 

As of Wednesday morning, the campaign has raised just over $40,000 of the $50,000 goal, with $1,000 of it coming from Brown.

“This man is a hero, not a villain,” one person said. “He is trying to get a job to support his kids and he CORRECTLY assumes that a 10 year old can watch their siblings at McDonalds for a few minutes while he interviews for a job across the street. All charges should be dropped immediately.”

“He had a kid when he was fourteen and holds himself responsible for it. A ten year old can watch a sibling for a short amount of time. This is a wild overreaction on the part of [law enforcement],” another X user agreed. 

“If the kids were fine, he should be left alone to try and do his best. All that has happened here is they’ve turned someone that was working to be a productive member of society into someone forced to be a non-productive member of society. I have respect for this man for doing his best to better his situation, and all the police did was destroy it,” a third agreed.

Some users were skeptical that Louis was actually attending a job interview and questioned why he didn’t get a babysitter.

“Nah! I call BS. Did you read the article? It states that he was seen leaving and returning to McDonald’s multiple times,” one person observed. “If he was waiting for his turn to be interviewed and was uncertain about how many other applicants were ahead of him or how long it would take, why not have the 10-year-old entertain the younger children safely in the apartment during the interview? It makes no sense to take them to McDonald’s, leave them there, return, and repeat. Something about this scenario seems off.”

Many locals also noted that the location of that McDonald’s was not in a safe part of town.

“McDonald’s in Augusta is not a safe place for little kids unsupervised,” an X user said. “Maybe it was 30-40 years ago, but definitely not today. I don’t think he should have been arrested though. I think a warning would have sufficed. Hope he got the job if he’s got 3 little kids.”

“There’s a huge difference between having a 10 yr old watch kids at your house for an hour and leaving them at a McD’s in a busy city,” another person wrote. “Hard no. I get that he’s trying. While I respect that, as an employer I’d say his judgment is questionable.”