An unidentified man was shot to death yesterday afternoon by one of two men who followed him into a McDonald's restaurant in the Brooklyn area, city police said.

Several employees ran for cover as the shooting took place about 4 p.m. in the restaurant at Potee Street and Patapsco Avenue, police said. No employees were hurt.

Employees told Detectives Mike Glenn and Kenneth Welsh that the victim - an adult black man wearing jeans and a T-shirt -walked in, and had not yet approached the counter to make an order when the others entered seconds later, said Officer Sherrie Albrecht, a police spokeswoman.

Albrecht said one man pulled out a gun and fired several times, hitting the victim several The victim fell against a side door, Albrecht said. No other customer was inside the restaurant, she said.

The pair fled on foot. Homicide detectives had little description of them, Albrecht said. It was unknown whether the shooting was caught on a surveillance camera in the restaurant.

Eric Phillips, 19, a grill worker at McDonald's for five months, said he didn't see the shooting but heard the gunfire.

"I was at the grill several feet from the food-order counter when I heard several popping sounds and all of us ran to the back of the building, where one of us dialed 911." he said.

Phillips said he and the others were scared and stayed together until police arrived. "There was a lot of confusion." he said.

Three hours after the shooting, a tow truck arrived and took a blue Cadillac - a car that may have belonged to the victim - from the restaurant parking lot to police headquarters.