GARLAND, Texas — A 34-year-old man is dead, and a 24-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, following an altercation that escalated to gunfire outside of an Ethiopian restaurant and hookah lounge in Garland on Christmas Day, police said.
According to the Garland Police Department, first responders received a report at 7:55 a.m. on Monday of a gunshot wound on the 4400 block of West Walnut Street, near the Z Chandelier Cafe and Lounge.
Upon arriving at the scene, police said, emergency personnel from both the Garland Fire Department and Garland Police Department located a man lying on the ground in the parking lot of the establishment and suffering injuries from an apparent gunshot wound.
Police said that the victim, later identified as 34-year-old Fuad Baranja, was transported to a local hospital to have his wound treated. He passed away on Tuesday as a result of his injuries, according to police.
Witnesses at the scene told first responders that the incident started as an altercation that escalated to gunfire, police said.
Police have since arrested 24-year-old Johnny Lewis III and charged him with Baranja's murder. Lewis is currently being detained at the Garland Detention Center, and no bond has yet been set in his case.
Prior to being taken into custody, Lewis was taken to a hospital and treated for wounds sustained after a security guard fired at him with a shotgun during the altercation outside the restaurant, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Per Garland Police, the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Z Chandelier Cafe and Lounge, which operates as an Ethiopian restaurant and hookah lounge, opened earlier this year.
