Two Louisiana IHOP workers were shot, one of them fatally, during a smoke break outside the restaurant on Tuesday, a report said.
The employees were ambushed at about noon by two masked men who pulled up, then fled from the Baton Rouge eatery in a stolen vehicle that was later found ablaze in a nearby residential area, The Advocate reported.
One of the victims was taken to the hospital, but could not be saved.
The other worker first drove off, apparently unaware he had been shot, before calling 911 from his car a short distance away, the newspaper reported, citing officials and witnesses.
He was then taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he is listed in stable condition, authorities said.
The suspects remained on the loose later Tuesday. Witnesses told The Advocate they saw the men hop a fence near where they ditched their car.
The daylight shooting occurred next to a busy commercial area containing retail shops and restaurants.
A worker at a nearby VISION4LESS store recalled the chaos that ensued after she and her colleagues heard the gunfire.
“I thought I was gonna die,” Tabatha Sanchez told the newspaper. “We all did.”
Sanchez said she, her colleagues and some customers took shelter during the mayhem.
“It was panicked and chaotic. My heart is still beating from it,” she said.