Charleston Police: 1 dead, shooter wounded after several held hostage in downtown restaurant
The suspect accused of shooting one person and holding others hostage in a downtown Charleston restaurant Monday afternoon has been shot and taken to the hospital, according to Charleston Police.
The victim has been confirmed dead after the incident, Jerome Taylor, Interim Police Chief of the Charleston Police Department, said in a press conference Monday afternoon. The suspect, described as a “disgruntled restaurant employee” was shot by police and in critical condition, according to Taylor.
The hostages are now safe after being held inside Virginia’s restaurant on King Street for several hours, Mayor John Tecklenburg said in a press conference around 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Emergency crews responded to “an active shooter situation” downtown at 12:17 p.m., where they discovered the wounded person, according to city officials.
“This was not an act of terrorism,” Tecklenburg said in a news conference. “This was not a hate crime. This was a tragic case of a disgruntled employee with, I think, a history of mental illness. And we tragically lost a member of our community today.”
Police presence in downtown Charleston escalates as officials respond to an active shooter situation. https://t.co/YrD1hfONoS pic.twitter.com/OtVbBe93WR
— ABC News (@ABC) August 24, 2017
Witnesses told the newspaper an older man wearing an apron and carrying a revolver came into the restaurant and ordered everyone inside, including about 30 diners, to get down and move to the back of the business.
He locked the restaurant’s door and said, “I am the new king of Charleston,” the Post and Courier reported.
Some people began crawling out out of side entrances at the back of the building.
The site is a few blocks away from Emanuel AME church, where nine black members of a church were killed by Dylann Roof in June, 2015.
King street closed, police say "it's not safe to go down there right now." At least 15 cops passed me on the way here. #chsnews pic.twitter.com/wLTkViU1y9
— Jackson Helms (@Jackson_Live5) August 24, 2017
Tecklenburg thanked all emergency crews for their “incredible job” on Thursday.
“Every day we should be thankful, you never know when we are going to need them for these situations and they’re there to protect our community and citizens,” Tecklenburg said. “It’s a tragic situation, but we’re so thankful for our first responders.”
Tecklenburg said that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division will investigate the incident.
This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Charleston Police: 1 dead, shooter wounded after several held hostage in downtown restaurant."