Teen shot to death at restaurant

Cathy Scott

Monday, Jan. 12, 1998 | 10:42 a.m.

A 17-year-old boy found shot to death in a restaurant doorway on East Charleston Boulevard marked the first homicide of the year in Clark County.

Metro Police said the teenager, a student at Clark High School, was either caught in the crossfire or was a victim of a gang-related dispute.

Just after midnight Sunday, the unidentified teen was inside the Casa Tequila restaurant at 1815 E. Charleston near Spencer Street attending a crowded private party when a fight broke out, police said. The teen was shot in the chest, homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said.

When police arrived, they found the teen collapsed outside the door, dead with a single gunshot wound.

The birthday party was attended by at least 300 people, most of them juveniles, homicide Sgt. Bill Keeton said.

"We have quite a few people to interview," he said today.

Investigators were looking into whether two people fired at each other.

"Because there were so many people inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting, we don't know if it was a confrontation between the victim and the assailant or if the victim was an innocent bystander. With gunshots being fired inside the crowded restaurant, someone was bound to get hit."

The victim carried an identification card that showed he was over 21, "but all his friends classified him as a 17-year-old," Keeton said.

The victim's name has not been released pending notification of his family.

Police have asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the homicide section at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.