Churrascaria Owner: Knife Was Pulled on Customer [UPDATE]
UPDATE: The owner of Churrascaria Novo Mundo says there was an incident in her County Street restaurant Thursday night, but no guns were pulled.
Carla Amaral* clarified earlier reports of armed men threatening other individuals, saying a customer she had never seen before was exiting the restaurant when he turned to another diner. "He took a pocket knife and put it in front of an individual that was sitting down to eat," said Amaral. "As soon as he did that, I walked up to them and I said 'Do me a favor and take this outside. If you're going to come in, you are going to respect my business and my customers.' And that's what happened. They went outside and I called the South End [police] station."
Police arrested the alleged instigator, 20-year-old Luis Samuel Ortiz, at 6:38 p.m. Police said Ortiz was causing a disturbance, and attempted to kick a police officer as he was being arrested. He was charged with disturbing the peace and assault on a police officer.
Ward Two Councillor Steven Martins had contacted WBSM News Friday morning, saying his mother was dining at Churrascaria around 6:30 p.m. Thursday when the incident took place. Martins told WBSM News "knives and guns" were pulled and his mother was "scared for her life."
Later Friday, however, Martins said only a knife had been pulled during the confrontation, but his mother did report seeing a firearm. "She did see a gun on the side of some individual's body," conveyed Martins.
New Bedford Police confirmed the confrontation began inside the restaurant and resulted in the single arrest.
*Amaral was identified in an earlier report as a "separate source" that corroborated information provided to WBSM News by Ward Two Councillor Steven Martins.
Original Story:
NEW BEDFORD - WBSM News has learned that multiple individuals armed with guns and knives entered a South End restaurant during a peak dinner hour Thursday night.
Ward Two New Bedford City Councillor Steven Martins says his mother was dining at Churrascaria Novo Mundo on County Street around 6:30 p.m. Thursday when several unidentified men, reportedly gang members, walked into the restaurant and displayed knives and firearms, apparently threatening rival gang members inside the establishment. Martins says his mother was "scared for her life" during the confrontation.
A separate source also confirmed the incident to WBSM News, but declined to be identified for fear of retaliation.
New Bedford Police say one man was arrested at 98 County Street, the listed address for Churrascaria Novo Mundo, at 6:38 P.M., but denied any knowledge of armed gang members making threats inside the restaurant. New Bedford Police say the arrested individual, 20-year-old Luis Samuel Ortiz, was arrested for disturbing the peace and assault on a police officer after he attempted to kick one of the arresting officers.