ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF News) – Investigators are still trying to find out what led up to a deadly shooting at the Zona Caliente Sports Bar and Grill on South Cooper Street in Arlington restaurant Wednesday night.
37-year-old Cesar Perez, the restaurant manager, and 48-year-old James Jones, the gunman, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The Arlington Police Department’s Christopher Cook said the Jones walked into the bar, got into a loud argument with Perez and then shot him. He said that is when a customer got involved.
“The customer was having dinner with his wife. He told his wife to get down because he was carrying a firearm. He made the conscious decision to go ahead and engage the shooter thinking that there might be further loss of life,” said Cook.
Police said the customer had a concealed carry license and that his actions possibly saved a lot of lives.
Cook said the customer wasn’t violating any laws because the bar is a blue-sign business, which means he was permitted to carry.
“If you have 51 percent or more of your sales derived from alcohol you’re a red-sign business which means you can not carry a firearm in that location even if you are licensed to do so. This is a blue-sign business because it’s a restaurant and sports bar,” he said.
Cook said Jones had other weapons on him in addition to the gun.
“We located a second handgun in the pants pocket of the suspect. It was fully loaded. He also had two additional knives on his person,” he said.
Investigators are searching through surveillance video and are trying to figure out if the two knew each other before the incident.
Zona Caliente Sports Bar and Grill is hosting a candle light vigil at the restaurant at 7 p.m., they’re asking all who attend to wear white.
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