Known transient shoots at restaurant while drunk, witness says

AUSTIN, Texas - A large hole is the visible aftermath of where a bullet entered into a restaurant Tuesday night. It happened around 10:00 at a shopping center near the intersection of North Lamar and Rutland Dr.

"I didn't think this would happen, I didn't think someone would get shot, or it would go to this extent,” said Stephanie DeShay.

DeShay works near the restaurant where the shooting took place. A few minutes before the incident DeShay said she was closing up her office when a known transient walked up and got into a confrontation with her husband.

"Yeah he was pretty out of it, was pretty out of it,” said DeShay.

FOX 7 has learned that the man in the confrontation was later told to leave the property after being caught urinating on a wall at the restaurant. He allegedly came back with a gun and fired at the front door, striking a customer inside.

A source close to the investigation tells FOX 7 that officers stop the bleeding with a tourniquet. That effort saved the customer's life. The man is expected to make a full recovery.

A clerk at the Family Dollar store nearby told FOX 7 she heard the gunshot. She declined to go on camera but said they had just closed up for the night and knew exactly what happened. She immediately ran to the back of the store and hid.

Detectives were at the shopping center Wednesday morning trying to get a better description of the gunman who fled the scene. 

"The homeless is really prevalent here, and they are not going away,” said Sharon Furnish.

Furnish owns a store near the crime scene. She would like to see more police patrols, but right now her only option is to close up early.

"Watch my back, don’t stay in the store after dark, and I do try to watch out for others in the neighborhood, there's a bunch of us who have been here for a while, this store has been here for about 30 years,” said Furnish. She went on to say that she is committed to staying in the shopping complex but only as long as she can afford to.

At the restaurant, the glass door that was shattered by the gunshot was taped up Wednesday afternoon. A sign was also posted notifying customers the business would not reopen until Friday.