Shooting at hot dog restaurant injures on-duty firefighter and 41-year-old, NC cops say
Two people are facing charges following a shooting at a North Carolina restaurant that left an on-duty firefighter and another customer injured on Friday, March 25, police said.
Elijah Tyshawn Staton, 18, and Kristan Jevon Allen, 21, were arrested and charged with two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill and one count each of discharging a firearm into an occupied property, the Winston-Salem Police Department said Saturday, March 26. Allen also faces multiple drug-related charges.
The shooting happened just before 2:30 p.m. at Kermit’s Hot Dog House in Winston-Salem, police said.
The firefighter, 29, was eating with his coworkers in the restaurant’s outdoor seating area, and the other customer, a 41-year-old, was leaving the restaurant after buying food when a blue car pulled into the parking lot, police said.
“Some of the occupants” of the car then opened fire on customers at the restaurant, according to police. Detectives learned that at least two guns were fired from the car.
The car left the restaurant immediately after the shooting, police said.
Other firefighters at the restaurant quickly rendered aid to the firefighter and customer who were shot. Both were taken to a hospital and were in stable condition as of March 25, according to police.
Detectives are investigating whether the two were the intended targets of the shooting or “collateral injuries suffered during an assault on another person(s) at the restaurant,” police said.
Staton is being held on a $151,000 secured bond and Allen is being held on a $250,000 secured bond, police said. Both have court dates scheduled for March 28. Police did not say whether either has an attorney who could comment on their behalf.
Kermit’s Hot Dog House wrote on Facebook that all employees are safe but “shaken up” after the “random shooting.”
“However an on duty Fire Fighter was shot as well as a customer,” the restaurant wrote. “We are asking for Everyone to please Pray for them and ALL of our first responders who put their life on the line for us everyday.”
It also thanked the agencies that “showed up and gave all of their support.”
No other information was released as of Sunday, March 27, and the shooting remains under investigation.
Winston-Salem is about 100 miles west of Raleigh.
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Shooting at hot dog restaurant injures on-duty firefighter and 41-year-old, NC cops say."
