CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were investigating after someone was shot outside a popular diner in South End early Monday morning.
[ PHOTOS: Man shot outside Midnight Diner ]
Officers were called to the Midnight Diner on Carson Boulevard around 2:30 a.m. and found a man shot in the torso outside the restaurant.
The Midnight Diner is one of the most popular spots in South End because it's open after the bars close. As it always is on weekends, employees say the Midnight Diner was crowded late Sunday evening and early Monday morning.
It was so crowded, workers tell Channel 9, a man stepped outside the restaurant to use the bathroom when he was shot in the stomach.
An off-duty officer was the first to hear the gunshots and police said the victim was shot in the back parking lot before walking to the front of the diner.
Police identified the victim as Tony Johnson. Police say Johnson went to the front of the diner after being shot where an off-duty officer was standing by and able to help.
Everyone was evacuated from the restaurant immediately after the shooting, but the diner never closed and they were later allowed back in.
Crime scene tape surrounded the scene and officials said the victim was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries.
Detectives were speaking with the victim's brother, trying to figure out what happened as well as reviewing security footage.
Channel 9 spoke with a waitress who was inside the Midnight Diner when the man was shot. She said he was a regular customer, and had just stepped outside to use the restroom.
Reporter Joe Bruno is following up on what led to the shooting at the diner. See his full report on Eyewitness News starting at 5 p.m.
“It was kind of heartbreaking seeing him on the floor and there was nothing I could do about it,” said Tiffany Pitts.
It's the first time Pitts can recall anything like this happening at the Midnight Diner. She was talking with Johnson just moments before he left the restaurant and was shot.
But it’s not the first time someone has gotten hurt at the Midnight Diner. Two years ago, a 29-year-old was shot walking to his car and in December 2012 another man was shot in the parking lot of the popular South End spot.
Channel 9 also learned in the past month there have been 349 crimes within a mile of the Midnight Diner, including 67 assaults and seven robberies.
Pitts also said she thought robbery was the motive behind the shooting and told Channel 9 she received a text from the victim's brother letting her know he was out of surgery.
"Life is too short and it makes you feel bad because it is good people getting hurt," Pitts said.
"We've been walking everywhere it seems pretty safe," Hunter Vaughn, a new South End resident, said.
Those crime statistics and this latest shooting surprise new residents such as Hunter Vaughn. But the diner is taking action to prevent violence. Cameras are in place and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is reviewing Monday morning's footage. Security also works on weekends when large crowds are expected late at night.
Workers are stressing this is an isolated incident.
"Life is too short and it makes you feel bad because it is good people getting hurt," Pitts said.
Despite the ongoing shooting investigation in the parking lot, Midnight Diner reopened less than less than two hours after shots were fired.
Police have not yet made any arrests.
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