Police: 2 dead in Arlington restaurant shooting

ARLINGTON, Texas - Arlington police say two people are dead, including the gunman, after a shooting at a local restaurant Wednesday afternoon.

The shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. at the Zona Caliente Sports Bar in the 6500 block of South Cooper Street. There were about a dozen customers in the restaurant at the time.

Police said 48-year-old James Jones walked into the bar and got into an argument with an employee. He fatally shot the worker. An armed customer then confronted Jones and shot him dead.

Investigators believe the man who worked at the bar, identified as 37-year-old Cesar Perez, was targeted. But, they are still working to determine the motive.

The armed customer told police he has a license to carry a concealed handgun.

“He told his wife to get down and get away because he was carrying a firearm on his person. And he made the decision to engage the shooter at that point fearing there would be other loss of life or additional shooting at the restaurant,” said Lt. Chris Cook with the Arlington Police Department.

Another customer was hurt when she cut herself on broken glass as she was leaving the restaurant.