A waitress at a Long Island, New York, IHOP after she allegedly threatened a family of diners with a steak knife.

The mother of two special needs children under the age of four told NBC New York that her family dined at a Massapequa IHOP on Friday, and that some employees responded with hostility when she complained about bad service.

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First, she said the manager asked the family of four to leave the restaurant. Then, as the family was leaving, the mother overheard a waitress make a comment about the children’s disabilities — so she turned around to confront the waitress.

Then, she said, “all the wait staff engulfed us.” And the woman who had been the family’s server took a knife out and threatened the whole family with it, before another employee grabbed the knife from her.

No one was hurt.

According to NBC New York, the waitress was arrested on charges of menacing and released. She is due back in court later this month.

The manager of the restaurant refused a request for comment from NBC News, and said employees were prohibited from discussing the incident.

The franchise owner, Camile Gnolfo, gave a media statement claiming that the employees were reacting to “what they viewed as an immediate threat to their personal safety.”

“This was a situation that would be difficult for anyone to imagine and we wish the outcome had been different,” Gnolfo said.

Photo: Associated Press