Just after 3:00am this morning, a 41 year old man was shot and killed at the Waffle House at 7611 West Newberry Road. The shooter was quickly located and arrested near the scene.
MEDIA ADVISORY 2019-014: Overnight Murder and Arrest at Waffle House (Case Number 19-3156)
For Immediate Release:
Today’s Date: April 7, 2019
Prepared by: Lieutenant Brett Rhodenizer
MEDIA ADVISORY 2019-014: Overnight Murder and Arrest at Waffle House (Case Number 19-3156)
Gainesville, Florida — April 7, 2019: Just after 3:00am this morning, a 41 year old man was shot and killed following an altercation at the Waffle House at 7611 West Newberry Road. Deputies were already responding to requests from the business to help disperse a large crowd that had gathered, and the shooter, Ezekiel Hicks (25, of Gainesville), was quickly located and arrested near the scene.
The initial investigation indicated that the suspect got into a verbal altercation with the victim, Craig Brewer, inside the business. The suspect then left the restaurant and, while outside, armed himself with a 9mm handgun. Despite the efforts of at least one bystander, the suspect went back inside and immediately approached the victim; a physical fight ensued near the entrance. As the fight continued, the suspect took the handgun from his pants and shot Brewer in the head. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video, now considered evidence in the murder case.
In addition to the video evidence, the apparent handgun involved was also recovered on scene. From the time of the initial call for assistance until the shooting was roughly five minutes, with the suspect in custody seven minutes after the original call (2 minutes following the shooting).
Detectives will continue to follow up with additional evidence as the case progresses, and any witnesses with additional information about events leading up to the shooting are asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at (352) 367-4170. The assistance of management teams from Waffle House, crowd control support from the Gainesville Police Department, and the response of the Alachua County Crisis Team were instrumental in providing a quick resolution and preventing additional violence.
Additional information will be provided by Public Information Officers as soon as it is available. There are no scheduled media events at this time as detectives continue their work.
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