Man shot at South Loop White Palace Grill restaurant with DNC attendees inside, Chicago police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man was wounded as he was walking out of the White Palace Grill restaurant in the South Loop where attendees of the DNC had gathered Thursday night.

The restaurant at Canal and Roosevelt was back open to customers Friday morning after Chicago police said shots were fired just before 3 a.m. inside the restaurant.

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Police said at about 2:58 a.m., a 42-year-old man was inside the restaurant and as he was walking out, a male suspect fired shots, hitting the man several times.

The victim was shot multiple times and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition while the suspect ran away, police said.

A manager said they had several customers inside when a man walked into the restaurant. He became agitated, she said, started arguing with people and then fired shots, the manager said. The manager said it was unclear exactly what he was upset about or who he was arguing with.

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Some of the customers inside at the time were delegates from the DNC who came to the late night diner, following the last night of the convention Thursday.

"All of a sudden we just heard gun shots," Colorado DNC delegate Javier Mabrey said. "They were very, very close."

Mabrey said he immediately thought his life was in danger.

"All of us got down immediately under tables and thought that there was somebody in restaurant that was going to shoot every single person in there," Mabrey said. "That's what it felt like at the time because shots were within the restaurant. I think about half the restaurant was full of people from the DNC."

Security guard Denard Allison, who works at the diner, was just getting off his shift when he said a man walked into the restaurant holding what appeared to be alcohol in his hand. That man became agitated, he said, and started arguing with the security guard on duty.

"He had a big cup of something, with alcohol in it and it's a no alcohol policy out here," Allison said. "When you come in, we've got to stop you at the door and make sure you can't let nobody with alcohol in, can't let nobody drunk or be belligerent in."

Employees were shaken up Friday morning as they cleaned up broken glass so they could reopen for business. They said they have amped up security at the diner recently.

"They are the reason why they ordered security because of what's been going on here," Allison said. "So they're really scared."

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One man walking into work Friday said their staff is prepared for situations like this.

"We've got bulletproof windows and doors... we're protected down here," White Palace Grill employee Patrick Cahill said. "Nine cameras to four locations. We're not really that concerned."

As police continue to search for the gunman, many continue to worry about gun violence around the U.S.

"It's indicative of the problem we have in this country with gun violence," Mabrey said. "This is a reality people face across this country. It's not just a Chicago problem."

Police say no one has been arrested. Employees are hoping the several surveillance cameras in this area will help the investigation.

Area Three detectives are investigating.

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