Gunman On The Loose After West Village Shooting
NEW YORK (CBS 2 /WCBS 880/1010 WINS) –- Police are searching for a gunman who opened fire inside a diner in the West Village.
The Good Stuff Diner, a popular area haunt that caters to dressed up, late-night clubgoers, was the scene of a deadly shooting Saturday morning, reports CBS 2's Derricke Dennis.
Police were called just before 5 a.m. after an argument between two groups of men erupted in gunfire. A man in his 30s was shot multiple times in the head and back, and was pronounced dead.
Diner employees said they heard 4-6 shots ring out from the back of the restaurant, 1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reported.
"That's really scary," West Village resident Monet Cruz said. "I'm scared about violence."
A man who works at the 7-Eleven next door, said a woman ran in the store and said 'call the police, someone has been shot.'
"Then I looked outside and I see the crowds moving out, so I thought something happened and then I dialed 911," he told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
Neighbors and regular customers of the diner blame a growing nightclub party scene near the West 14th Street diner, located just blocks from Chelsea and the Meatpacking District.
The diner gets its share of late-night, post-party patrons, many of whom may have had too much to drink.
"It's only a matter of time because the kids come from the clubs," one diner patron told Sandberg.
"I mean, this is a really hot, happening area near the Meatpacking District with a lot of people around, coming from a lot of the outer areas too," one customer said.
A help for police is that there were several witnesses inside the restaurant and just outside. Still, the shooting has surprised many neighborhood residents.
"This is a quiet, safe area; things like this really don't happen here," neighbor Steve Shifren said.
Customers say it's a safe diner that's won awards for its food and service. The owner refused to talk about the shooting, though it was business-as-usual at the diner by the afternoon.
"It's bringing, you know, a different element," one customer said. "This is usually a quiet residential area."
That usual quiet was shattered by early morning gunfire.
At this point, police have not released the name of the victim, and no arrests have been made.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Monica Miller reports
LISTEN: 1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports
Olivio, a diner patron, blamed the late-night, rowdy crowd that comes to the establishment after a night of partying and drinking.
"It's only a matter of time because the kids come from the clubs," he told Sandberg.
EMS responded and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
There are no arrests at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
