3 Days of Shootings at Denny's

It is a restaurant franchisee's greatest nightmare, an inherent risk of crime and murder. Last week Denny's had a random series of shootings in three California restaurants.

Although unrelated, the crimes seemed to move from north to south. It started Wednesday with a suicide gunman shortly after noon in a busy lunch crowd at a Pismo Beach Denny's.

A 60-year-old transient man burst into a Pismo Beach Denny's restaurant shooting lunchtime customers, a gun in each hand, before killing himself. Three died.

The reasons for the violence are still unknown but the LA Times has this account from a family dining there.

Paul Woodward, 46, of Paso Robles said Velasquez was his stepfather. His mother, Velasquez's wife, Lavina told him that she was with her husband and their great-granddaughter Alexis Woodward, 5, when Woods walked in.

Woodward said his mother gave him this account:

The gunman walked over to their table, aimed low, and shot Velasquez in the left thigh. Then he said to her: "Do you want to know why this is happening?";

When she said yes, he told her: "It's all Mid-State Bank's fault." Then he raised the gun to his head and shot himself, Woodward said.

A day later a 37-year old Pomona man was shot dead in a Denny's parking lot in Ontario, California. The guman is still at large.

And Friday, an 18-year old man was killed and another wounded in the parking lot of an Anaheim Denny's.

Statement from Denny's
Denny's corporate office released a public announcement on their website over the Pismo Beach shootings the next day.

""We are shocked and saddened by the tragic random act of violence that occurred yesterday in Pismo Beach, California. Our primary concern at the moment is the welfare of the victims, their families and our employees. Our company is offering professional counseling to all those affected. We will continue to support them in every way we can.

We are not focusing at this time on the reopening of the restaurant but rather on the welfare of the victims, their families and our employees."

[via LA Times. Photo by Associated Press]