Video Shows Chula Vista Mall Shooting; Suspect Still At Large

CHULA VISTA — A video by an eyewitness captured "much" of Sunday's shooting inside the Novo Brazil restaurant at the Otay Ranch Town Center in Chula Vista, authorities announced Monday.

Four people were wounded by the gunfire, and police are reviewing the footage in an effort to identify the shooter.

The shooting was first reported at 7:16 p.m. at the restaurant and brewery located in the mall at 2015 Birch Road, police said.

"Officers found three victims with non-life-threatening wounds, the Chula Vista Police Department said. "The suspect fled. Initial indications are that the shooting was not an active shooter and was not random."

The owner of NOVO Brazil said Monday that the shooter in his Chula Vista restaurant Saturday evening was not a customer.

The shooter, he said, had chased his teenage target through Otay Ranch Town Center, into the restaurant and opened fire. The shooting lasted about 12 seconds, he said.

“Everybody’s shocked. It’s a family restaurant. There were kids inside,” NOVO Brazil Brewing Company owner Tiago Carneiro told the San Diego Union Tribune Monday. “We are very blessed that no one died.”

Three of the victims, a 58-year-old man, a 60-year-old woman and a 21-year-old woman, were bystanders

The man and the 60-year-old woman were both shot in the leg and transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The 21-year-old woman, who is a restaurant employee also received treatment at a hospital for a non-life threatening injury "believed to have been caused by a bullet grazing her leg," police said.

The juvenile victim, a 16-year-old male who suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds to his legs, is believed to have been involved in the initial dispute.

In a news release dated Monday, police said they had spoken with the four victims and numerous patrons of the restaurant and the mall who stayed to give witness statements after the incident.

"Officers spoke with several witnesses and collected video at the scene, including video which captured much of the incident," police said, adding that the video, which was shot by an eyewitness is being reviewed by investigators "but will not be available for the public at this time."

There is believed to be only one suspect who discharged a firearm during the incident.

No other information about the suspect, who remains at large, is available at this time.

Carneiro was not at his restaurant when the shooting occurred but said he has seen surveillance video of the shooting. According to him, the dispute started outside the restaurant, and it appeared the 16-year-old was running from someone when he ducked into NOVO. At least one of the people chasing the teen followed him inside.

When the gunfire started, “everyone hit the floor,” Carneiro told the Union Tribune.

When 911 calls flooded in with reports of an active shooter, several Chula Vista Police officers responded to the scene along with officers from the San Diego and National City Police Departments, the Chula Vista Police Department news release said.

"The mall was immediately locked down while officers secured the scene and searched for victims," the release said, adding that the "lockdown was lifted after officers determined there was not an active shooter."

“I hope this criminal gets arrested as soon as possible,” Carneiro told the Union Tribune. “For me it’s a terrorist act to go inside a restaurant with kids and families inside.”

Anyone with additional video or information about the incident should contact investigators via San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or submit a tip via P3tips, if they wish to remain anonymous.

Read more on the San Diego Union Tribune.

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