Lawrence Applebee’s reopens after grisly murder
LAWRENCE » The Applebee’s where a horrific execution-style murder occurred has reopened.
Workers at the chain restaurant off Brunswick Pike, next to the Quaker Bridge Mall, tried to regain a sense of normalcy following the point-blank killing of 23-year-old Devin “Dynomite” Smith, who was shot in the back of the head as he drank at the bar early Tuesday morning.
“We’re just cooperating 100 percent with the police,” said Tom Lowe, director of operations at the restaurant.
Lowe was not at the restaurant when the shooting happened around 12:25 a.m., when Smith was at the bar drinking alone as a gunman walked up behind him and opened fire.
Lowe said counseling is being offered to restaurant staff, but he wasn’t aware if anybody has taken advantage of the services. He wasn’t sure if any staff had quit in the wake of the shocking slaying.
“Overall, it’s been fine,” he said. “There’s obviously concern. But there’s been nothing dramatic. It was a random act.”
Things appeared to be business as normal at the restaurant on Wednesday as several lunchtime customers patronized the business, where overhead TVs were tuned onto ESPN and music played on the audio system.
One waitress expressed gratitude that the restaurant was able to open Wednesday and serve patrons who particularly wanted to support the restaurant in the wake of the early Tuesday homicide. It is troubling for an incident like that to occur at anyone’s workplace, the waitress suggested, but she said the Applebee’s staff is moving forward one day at a time.
The restaurant did not open Tuesday as police conducted their homicide investigation. When the eatery reopened on Wednesday, business may have been slower than usual but an employee expressed optimism that typical clientele would rebound in the days ahead.
The atmosphere at Applebee’s on Wednesday showed no signs of recent bloodshed as the establishment was cleaned up and staffers greeted patrons with pleasantries. The service was professional and the food was of top Applebee’s quality.
Lowe said the restaurant didn’t have immediate plans to implement new safety initiatives following the shooting. He added the restaurant hadn’t experienced violent outbursts or altercations from patrons before Tuesday’s killing, the first homicide Lawrence has had in 16 years. The last one occurred in 2001, at the Sleepy Hollow Motel.
Lowe referred questions about how the restaurant will rebound after the vicious attack to a corporate spokesperson, who did not immediately return a phone call.
A spokeswoman from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday that no arrests had been made overnight and the investigation is ongoing.
Some of Smith’s supporters gathered outside the Applebee’s on Tuesday night to pay tribute to their fallen friend.
Briana Anderson, the mother of Smith’s 3-year-old daughter Olivia, told NBC Philadelphia she couldn’t wrap her head around the tragedy.
“I just lost the father of my child,” she told the news station. “I’m trying to be strong for my daughter so she knows she’s not alone through this whole process.”
Another one of Smith’s friends released balloons into the air outside the restaurant, according to the network.
“I just don’t feel real,” Kavon Marshall told the news station. “I don’t know what kind of monster would do this.”
Police have described the suspect as a black man in his mid20s who fled in a dark-colored SUV. Police are still searching for the vehicle.
The motive for the killing is not known at this time, but sources believe the gunman and victim had a long-standing beef that culminated in murder.
After the slaying, police spent most of Tuesday sorting through the crime scene and reviewing surveillance tape from inside the business and outside in the parking lot.
The restaurant, roped off by yellow-crime scene tape, remained closed throughout the day. It reopened at 11 a.m. Wednesday and was abiding normal business hours.