Man Seized in Shooting at Studio Restaurant

A man who was told to leave a Universal Studios restaurant after arguing loudly with another patron early Friday returned with a gun and fired several shots at security guards and about 100 other customers, “miraculously” missing them all, authorities said.

Charles Bryant, 31, of Studio City, was then chased by restaurant security guards and captured after the 1:30 a.m. shooting incident outside the Victoria Station restaurant.

Bryant was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held without bail in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail in West Hollywood, Deputy Roger Hom said.

Shortly before the shooting, Bryant had been in the bar of the restaurant, located in the huge entertainment and studio complex off Lankershim Boulevard, Hom said. Bryant got into an argument with another patron and was told by the restaurant manager to leave, Hom said.

‘I’ll Be Back’

Bryant left but said, “I’ll be back in 15 minutes,” Hom said.

Hom said Bryant, armed with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, came back a short time later as the restaurant was closing and patrons were leaving.

Bryant confronted two unarmed security guards in front of the building and fired two shots at them, Hom said. They were not injured.

“He turned as if to walk away and then turned back and fired approximately nine to 10 rounds at a crowd of about 100 people who were leaving the restaurant,” Hom said. “Miraculously, none of the scattering patrons were hit.”

The suspect then turned and ran from the restaurant. About eight security guards, including the two that had been shot at, caught up with him and captured him. They disarmed Bryant and held him until deputies arrived.

‘Fairly Close’

Deputies did not know how close Bryant was to the people being shot at, but Investigator Art Lucas said, “He was fairly close.”

Lucas said he believed that Bryant had fired live rounds but no slugs were recovered at the scene.

The cause of the argument that triggered the shooting was not known. Noel Decker, general manager of the restaurant, said he did not know any details of the disagreement.

It was the second time in less than a year that security guards at the Universal complex were shot at. On Dec. 1, a man who was determined to see actor Michael Landon was turned away at the studios’ main gate but later walked back and opened fire, killing two unarmed guards. Nathan N. Trupp, 42, was arrested and has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.