Off-Duty Officer Kills Suspect After 3 Shot at Restaurant

A gunman who ran outside a Mexican restaurant and shot two customers after a fatal shooting inside was killed by an off-duty officer early Wednesday, Tallahassee police said.

In all, four people were shot during the melee, which began about 12:45 a.m. Two uniformed officers were working security outside the restaurant when customers ran out and said someone had been shot inside. A crowd then poured out of the restaurant, including a gunman who shot two people in the parking lot, said department spokesman David Northway.

Officer Jason Ravenel shot the gunman, who was identified as 32-year-old Dimitrie Penny. Inside the restaurant, Ira Brown, 24, was found dead. The man and woman shot in the parking lot were hospitalized with serious but non life-threatening injuries, Northway said.

Police Chief Michael DeLeo said several hundred people were at the restaurant when a fight between several people broke out and escalated. He said he didn't know what caused it.

DeLeo said he also didn't know whether Penny fired at the officers before Ravenel shot him. It's also not known whether Penny is the person who killed Brown.

"We're not precluding any possibility that there were more than one person involved in the different events both inside and outside at this time,'' DeLeo said.

Ravenel and officer Ed Guerra were placed on administrative leave.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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