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Police flock to scene after gunman reported in Charleston, South Carolina Charleston shooting: restaurant worker shoots one and takes hostages – officials
(35 minutes later)
Dozens of police officers rushed to downtown Charleston, South Carolina, after police reported a possible gunman near a stretch of restaurants and shops popular with tourists. An angry employee shot one person on Thursday and was holding “a couple” others hostage at a crowded restaurant during lunchtime in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, authorities said.
A police spokesman, Charles Francis, said a shooting was reported just after noon on King Street, a row of restaurant and shops where tourists frequently gather. He did not immediately report any injuries or information about a potential suspect. No other details were immediately available. Hostage negotiators were trying to talk to the man inside Virginia’s, Charleston mayor John Tecklenburg said at a news conference outside the restaurant on usually crowded King Street, a line of shops that caters to both tourists and residents in South Carolina’s largest and most historic city.
Tom and Patsy Plant told the Post and Courier of Charleston they were eating at Virginia’s restaurant and saw a man come out of the kitchen with a gun in his hand and say: “There’s a new boss in town.” “This is not an act of terrorism. This is not a hate crime. It is a disgruntled employee,” Tecklenburg said.
The man looked like “an ordinary grandpa, but he had a crazy look”, the couple said, adding that they left the restaurant via a back door. Police spokesman Charles Francis said the employee was holding a “couple” of hostages. He did not respond to follow-up telephone calls seeking a more specific number and he did not give any details on the condition of the shooting victim.
Charleston Police sent Swat teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area. Authorities instructed people inside to stay inside and those outside to leave the area. The shooting was reported shortly after noon on Thursday.
More follows… Peter Siegert, 73, and his son Peter Siegert IV, 45, were quoted by the Post and Courier of Charleston as saying that just after several waitresses and kitchen workers walked out the door without saying a word, a man in an apron with a gun came out of the kitchen and locked the front door.
He said, “I am the new king of Charleston”, the Siegerts said, adding that the man told diners to get on the floor and move to the back of the restaurant. The Siegerts said they escaped out of a back door and did not know how many people were left behind.
Tom and Patsy Plant, who also escaped via a back door, told the Post and Courier the man looked like “an ordinary grandpa, but he had a crazy look”.
Charleston police sent Swat teams and a bomb disposal unit to the area. Authorities instructed people inside to stay inside and those outside to leave the area.