KTLA

Shooting stuns patrons at upscale Beverly Hills steakhouse; victim in stable condition

A man was wounded in a shooting at an upscale Beverly Hills restaurant Monday night.

The incident was reported around 10:50 p.m. in the 100 block of North Canon Drive.

The victim was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound and is in stable condition, Beverly Hills police said.

Patron Pedro Pertile was getting ready to leave Nusr-Et Steakhouse when the gunshots rang out.

The restaurant is owned by Nusret Gökçe, the Turkish chef nicknamed “Salt Bae” for his unique seasoning technique.

Pertile and other patrons started scrambling and running to the kitchen area as the victim sat on the floor.

“I’m so thankful to be alive tonight, because I just watched someone get shot,” Pertile said in a video posted on Instagram.

Police were inside the steakhouse talking to employees Tuesday morning.

Video from the still-active scene Tuesday morning showed the entrance of a Bank of the West across from the restaurant was damaged after a bullet shattered the glass. Right along the sidewalk near that location, authorities collected a bullet casing for potential evidence in this case.

In a news release more than 12 hours after the shooting, police said the motive in the shooting is unknown, but that an investigation indicated it was not random and there was no active threat to the community.

KTLA video showed a man being detained shortly after the shooting, but it’s unclear if he’s the person who shot the customer who was dining inside the steakhouse. Police have not said whether anyone is in custody in connection with the shooting.

Residents and visitors to Beverly Hills said they feel relatively unsafe in the upscale area.

“I don’t like to be in Beverly Hills these days,” said Jara Negrin. “I think there’s a lot of chaos.”

“Even if the guy was targeted, whether he was or wasn’t, there’s still random bullets that can hit random patrons, so this has got to stop,” another man said.

On Tuesday night, security was increased and areas near the high-end restaurants were closed off to the public.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Beverly Hills Police Department at 310-285-2125.