Shooting Shuts Down Steakhouse
By GENE CUBBISON and STEVE LUKE
Updated 9:34 AM PST, Tue, Aug 4, 2009
A deadly officer-involved shooting in the Gaslamp began when a man lifted a steak knife from a patio table at a high-end restaurant.
San Diego police officers shot and killed a man at Fourth Avenue and E Street in the Gaslamp Monday around 4:30 p.m.
Yellow tape cordoned off the Greystone Steakhouse on Fifth Avenue at G Street Monday evening when the restaurant was supposed to be open and serving customers. Employees were being questioned inside.
According to witnesses, a man described as homeless walked up and grabbed a steak knife with a 5-inch blade from a table and was going to leave with it.
"He grabbed a steak knife with his right arm," said Nicole Tedeschi a server at a nearby restaurant. "I was scared he was going to do something because he looked very angry."
Words were exchanged between an employee and the man, witnesses said. The man then left on foot heading toward Market Street.
Moments later, the same suspect walked into another restaurant in the 800 block of Fourth Avenue, brandished a large knife and demanded money from an employee, according to a police news release.
The suspect left the restaurant when the employee did not acknowledge the threat, police said.
When officers found the suspect at Fourth and E, they ordered him to stop. Then, officers said the man knelt down and took a large knife from his backpack. After repeated commands to drop the night, officers fired on the man as he was walking toward them according to investigators.
The victim has not been identified however some people in the area told NBCSanDiego that they knew the man and this was out of character.
“I’ve known the man for 25 years and he’s never done anything like that,” said Troy Weber who identified himself as a friend of the shooting victim.
Officers are looking into the possibility that the shooting victim may be the same suspect who was reportedly yelling at people outside the restaurant on Sunday.
Officers closed Fourth Avenue from Broadway south to F Street and E street is roped off from the entrance to Horton Plaza east to Fifth Avenue during the busy evening rush hour. No word on when the restaurant will reopen for business.
First Published: Aug 3, 2009 5:39 PM PST
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