A shootout erupted inside Chiquitos Cantina and Grill in Conyers, igniting chaos among patrons and setting forth a standoff that lasted several hours before a suspect was apprehended. The violence commenced around 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night when the gunman, now identified as 22-year-old Bryan Rosas, began firing at customers during an apparent argument at the bar, sending families and children scrambling for safety, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Authorities disclosed that two armed patrons at the restaurant engaged in gunfire with Rosas, forcing him out to the parking lot where he continued to shoot back towards the building, after which he fled the scene, this according to details from an Atlanta News First report. Despite the exchange of gunfire inside the establishment, miraculously no injuries were reported, the suspect then barricaded himself within his residence located roughly a mile away from the restaurant.
Conyers police, bolstered by a SWAT team, engaged in a standoff that culminated in Rosas' arrest and the subsequent clearing of the neighborhood yesterday, per FOX 5 Atlanta. The residence, situated at the junction of Oak Forest and a main thoroughfare, became the scene of intense police activity before officers brought the situation to a conclusion without further incident.
Following the confrontation, Rosas now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault, revealed during a process wherein police found a handgun at his home, with Conyers police Capt. Quantavis Garcia described the event as "extremely, extremely violent" and out of place in the dining atmosphere of families and children, according to his remarks to Atlanta News First. The community, meanwhile, reels from the proximity of danger, with one local, Jeremiah Rhodes, telling Atlanta News First, "That’s terrible. And I heard children were too.”
Police later determined that the two individuals who returned fire during the initial confrontation acted in self-defense, adding another dimension to an already complex incident. Chiquitos Cantina and Grill remained closed the following day as staff worked to clean up and repair the bullet damage at its entrance.
