Man arrested in deadly shooting at downtown Charleston restaurant

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Authorities arrested a man in connection with the deadly shooting of a restaurant employee in downtown Charleston.

Officers with the Charleston Police Department responded to Toast All Day off King Street just before midnight on Tuesday after receiving multiple calls about shots being fired in the area.

At the scene, investigators located a male victim who was lying near the rear entrance of the restaurant suffering from a gunshot wound. The person was later identified by the Charleston County Coroner’s Office as 64-year-old Gaber Baghdady of Hanahan.

During an investigation into the deadly shooting, investigators determined that a male had entered the location and confronted Baghdady, who was an employee at that location, in an attempt to commit an armed robbery.

The suspect was identified as Antwan Lamont Scott, who was a former employee of the restaurant group. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Scott is facing murder, attempted armed robbery, second-degree burglary, and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He is expected in bond court Thursday afternoon.

Charleston neighbors and business owners are reacting to the incident.

“It’s always front-page news when it happens,” said Malcolm Chester, a Charleston neighbor. “It’s kind of crazy that this crime is coming to King Street. I don’t know what’s causing it or why it’s happening.”

Woody Norris, who owns Booze Pops a block away from where the shooting happened, says he has a solution to the crime issues.

“We want to protect everyone as much as possible. We try to take every measure there is for safety,” said Norris. “We need safe zones. A well-lit area, a phone to contact the police department and maybe a safety officer at these zones helping and able to respond.”