Authorities have identified the chef who was fatally shot at a restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston County deputy coroner Sheila Williams said in an email late Thursday that the slaying victim was 37-year-old Anthony Shane Whiddon, the executive chef at Virginia’s restaurant.
Authorities and one of the restaurant’s owners said the gunman in the lunchtime slaying Thursday was a dishwasher who had been fired from the restaurant, which is located on a tourist-heavy section of downtown Charleston.
A disgruntled man with a gun killed former co-worker Anthony Shane Whiddon (pictured) at a popular Charleston restaurant Thursday
The identity of the shooter, who was shot and critically wounded by police, remains unknown
Social media photos appear to show that Whiddon was a father of two.
Police in South Carolina shot the former restaurant worker who they say killed Whiddon and took several people hostage in downtown Charleston this afternoon.
The identity of the shooter remains unknown.
Law enforcement officials announced the situation has been resolved shortly after 3pm, nearly three hours after the first reports about an active shooter at Virginia’s On King started coming in.
The mayor of Charleston told reporters the gunman has been shot by police and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
One victim, described by local news outlets as a chef, has succumbed to his wounds.
Interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor says all the hostages at Virginia’s restaurant were rescued safely. He didn’t say how many there were.
Active shooter: A former employee at Virginia’s On King in Charleston, South Carolina, reportedly opened fire during lunch, fatally shooting a chef
Heavy police presence is seen on King Street, a portion of which has been blocked
This map shows the area in downtown Charleston where the fatal shooting took place
A Charleston police officer blocks access to King Street near the restaurant Virginia’s on King
According to witnesses, it is believed the incident began unfolding at Virginia’s On King, a Southern food restaurant in the 400 block of King Street.
A family were having lunch at the eatery when they tell the Charleston Post and Courier a middle-aged man emerged from the kitchen brandishing a loaded revolver and announced, ‘There’s a new boss in town.’
The gunman’s sudden appearance sent patrons fleeing for their lives out of the eatery. There were about 30 people having lunch at Virginia’s during the incident.
A tourist from Maryland and his son recounted a similar story, saying that a black man in an apron walked through the door holding a small-caliber revolver, locked the door and said, ‘I am the new king of Charleston.’
Some described the person in question as a black man in his late 50s. One diner, Patsy Plant, told the paper the armed man looked like a ‘grandpa’ but had ‘a crazy look.’
Virginia’s owner, John Aquino, told WCSC-TV he thought the gunman was a dishwasher who was fired and came back to Virginia’s to get revenge by shooting a male chef because he was angry at him.
During an earlier press conference held this afternoon, Charles Francis, a spokesman for the Charleston Police Department, said officers who responded to the scene at 12.17pm located one shooting victim and had that person transported to a hospital.
Francis also said there were ‘a couple of hostages’ in the building.
Witnesses say the gunman let diners, waitresses and some kitchen staff out of the restaurant.
Authorities said a hostage negotiation team was trying to talk to the gunman.
Police vehicles are seen at the scene on King Street in Charleston after the shooting
Bystanders wait at a perimeter set up by local police after reports of a man armed with a handgun was holding hostages at the restaurant
Standoff: Police officers are seen with guns drawn near Virginia’s, where a fired staffer is said to be holding hostages
Hostage negotiators, SWAT officers and bomb specialists are at the scene in Charleston
Reports of an active shooter prompted a heavy police presence in the area and caused lockdowns at nearby businesses, which have since been lifted.
Heavily armed SWAT officers and a bomb squad also responded to the scene.
‘This was not an act of terrorism,’ Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg rushed to reassure the public. ‘This was not a hate crime. This was a disgruntled employee.’
The restaurant is located 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.