The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:24 AM
Hostage Situation in South Charleston Restaurant Ends After Police Shoot Gunman
One person was held hostage in the restaurant, Virginia's on King, and has been safely rescued from the building, the Charleston Police Department said on Twitter.
Police also confirmed that the restaurant employee who was shot by the
assailant has died.
The gunman, believed to be a disgruntled employee, was shot by police
and taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
"The shooter is a disgruntled employee. This is not an act of terrorism
or hate crime," Mayor John Tecklenburg said at a news conference.
Charleston police received a call about an "active shooter situation"
just after 12 p.m. at Virginia's on King, the mayor's office said.
John Aquino, an owner of the restaurant, told WSCS he thinks the gunman,
who was dressed as a kitchen staff member and Aquino believes to be a
former dishwasher, was angry and shot a male chef out of revenge.
Tecklenburg said as of 2:30 p.m. the situation is "still unfolding" and
the shooter is still in the building. Charleston Police spokesman
Charles Francis told reporters the shooter was holding "a couple" of
hostages and negotiations between officials and the shooter are being
conducted.
The area surrounding the restaurant was blocked and Charleston police
asked residents to avoid the area.
Tom and Patsy Plant, who were eating lunch in the restaurant, told The
Post and Courier a man came into the kitchen with a loaded gun and said,
"There's a new boss in town." The couple escaped the restaurant through
the back door.
Another diner said the unidentified armed man locked the front door and
announced, "I am the new king of Charleston."
About 30 people were dining in the restaurant at the time, witnesses
told the newspaper.
Charleston Police sent SWAT teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area
and warned people nearby to stay inside buildings or leave.
The incident is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine
black members of a church were killed by a white man during a June 2015
Bible study. Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.