PITTSBURGH — The search is on for one of two men involved in an afternoon shootout inside a downtown Pittsburgh restaurant.
Pittsburgh Police caught one of the suspects in Market Square near the Holiday Market. They say he ran there after being shot in the leg.
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It was around 3 p.m. Thursday when the chaotic scene unfolded at the Liberty Avenue Arby’s and spread to other parts of the city. Witnesses told Pittsburgh Police, they saw the two men in their 20s approach each other in the Arby’s. First, they exchanged words, and then bullets.
“There were patrons and workers inside the restaurant, so they were dangerous to others. There were approximately 15 rounds fired between the two individuals one was a 40 caliber and one was a 9mm,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said
Most of those shots were fired close to the door of the restaurant. Terrified employees ran to safety, calling 911.
“The manager who was in the back when this incident occurred. They took refuge in the freezer for their own safety until we arrived on scene,” Scirotto said.
Officers were there in a minute, but the two men had already left the Arby’s.
“The individuals involved in the shooting had fled the scene. One fled into Market Square and one fled up 7th Ave towards Grant Street,” Scirotto said.
Officers tracked one of the suspects down in Market Square where the busy Holiday Market is going on. He went to the hospital in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the leg. Officers found one of the weapons involved at 5th Avenue and Wood Street.
“I’m pretty freaked out yet I was just thinking as I was walking from one holiday party to the next, how safe it seemed and I wasn’t at all afraid or anything like that but then I hear something like that and I have to sort of reevaluate,” David Slesnick said. He works downtown.
No one else was injured during the shootout, including the second suspect. Police continue their search for the other man involved.
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