A shooting inside a Chick-fil-A restaurant in northern New Jersey Saturday night left one person dead and six others injured, the authorities said on Sunday.
The shooting happened about 8:45 p.m. in a branch of the popular restaurant on Route 22 in Union, about a 10-minute drive from Newark.
A dashcam video circulating on social media appears to show the chaotic aftermath of the attack as several people, including a masked man who seems to be carrying a gun, run away from the Chick-fil-A.
Alex Lopez, 36, the husband of one of the workers at the restaurant, was parked outside waiting for his wife to be allowed to leave the scene Saturday night after the shooting. He said she called him about 8:40 p.m. panicked and screaming. At first she thought the deep fryers were exploding, but “then she realized they were gunshots,” he said.
She escaped out of the back of the restaurant and fainted but was otherwise unharmed, he said.
Around midnight, officers from the Union County Medical Examiner’s Office wheeled out a body bag on a stretcher.
Those who were injured were all expected to survive. According to audio obtained by CBS News, a 911 dispatcher who responded to the attack said: “I got an unconscious witness. I’ve got one shot in the face … and I have at least two in the leg.”
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s loved ones, and we are hoping for the full recovery of those who were injured,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said in a written statement.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office revealed nothing about a motive for the attack but said the action appeared to be targeted.
“While no arrests have been made at this time, the preliminary investigation reveals this does not appear to a random act of violence, and there is no immediate ongoing threat to the general public,” said Lauren Farinas, spokeswoman for the office.
Robert Frazer, U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, said that his office was “closely tracking” the shooting and that there was no evidence of any “terrorist ideology” connected to it.
Tracey Tully and Dakota Santiago contributed reporting.
Jay Root is an investigative reporter for The Times based in Albany, N.Y., covering the people and events influencing — and influenced by — state and local government.
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