Deadly Shooting at Downtown Buffalo Restaurant
By WKBW News
WKBW-TV
updated 12:19 a.m. ET, Sun., Jan. 17, 2010
Police have identified the victim and the suspect in a deadly shooting at a downtown Buffalo restaurant.
51-year old Ernesto Arechavaleta-Taureaux of Porter Avenue is charged with the shooting death of 18-year old Rick Costner, Jr.
Buffalo police were called out to Merge restaurant at 439 Delaware Avenue at about 11:40 this morning after a report of a shooting. When they arrived they found two people shot. Buffalo Police spokesperson Mike DeGeorge tells Eyewitness News the restaurant's manager 40-year old Rick Costner, Sr. and his son 18-year old Rick Costner, Jr. who worked as a sous chef were shot. Costner, Jr. was taken to Buffalo General where he was pronounced dead. His father was taken to ECMC and treated for his wound.
Police say the suspect in the shooting is 51-year old Ernesto Arechavaleta-Taureaux of Porter Avenue. Arechavaleta-Taureaux worked as a dishwasher at the restaurant.
"The people who run the restaurant are wonderful people and this poor guy now his 18-year old son is gone", said Gerry Smith.
Smith has an auto dealership just around the corner from the restaurant. He says in 30 years he's never seen or heard of anything like this in this neighborhood.
"It puts a black mark on the neighborhood it's not the neighborhood that you find stuff like this happening in the middle of the afternoon". Smith told Eyewitness News.
Merge opened just about a year ago by sisters Eliza and Sarah Schneider. According to their website the restaurant is a place, "... where vegans can sit down over lunch with meat eaters to discuss art, and foodies can enjoy an elegant dinner with blue collar sensibilities".
Both sisters showed up at the restaurant shortly after the shooting. They sisters were seen comforting one another and other employees at the restaurant. Neither would comment on the shooting but they did post this message on their website:
Our hearts are with the Costner family at this time. We are shocked and saddened by the tragedy that occurred today. It was an isolated incident and a random act of violence. We are accepting charitable donations of any size for the Costner family.
The suspect is charged with second degree murder as well as attempted second degree murder, and criminal possession of a weapon. Police did recover a 9mm handgun at the scene.
Hopefully I'll get last nights Bandits Game pictures posted today if I have time before Football then 24.
I read a story on the guy in the news today sorry no link, and he in some ways reminded me of me. But what I ment to mention is (and you can apply this to the girl who did the attacking out side of Roxy's also) If you are going to work and you need a gun or going out some where and you need a weapon then it is someplace you just shouldn't go. I find it interesting that so far (maybe it is because of court stuff) we haven't heard who's gun it is and was it legal or not. In any event it is sad, and you wonder what caused it. You would think if it was only work related the guy would have found another Job?
So freakin sad. Apparently it happened right after I arrived at Allentown Athletix just two blocks away. Sounds like it was a personal grudge or something.
Incidentally Buffalo News online had a gruesome photo of the dying son on a gurney, blood and all. It was a kinda graphic to the point of being gratuitous or voyeuristic in a sick sort of way.
This was in the Buffalo News today so I thought I would share it from there web page
:::link:::
One killed in restaurant shooting
Gunfire wounds father of victim; co-worker charged
By Jay Tokasz and Jay Rey
NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
Updated: January 17, 2010, 9:45 AM / 38 comments
A dishwasher allegedly opened fire on his co-workers â€" fatally shooting one and wounding another â€" inside a Delaware Avenue restaurant, as employees prepared to open for business Saturday morning.
The victims were a father and his son.
Rick Costner Jr., 18, a sous chef at Merge restaurant, 439 Delaware Ave., was killed, Buffalo police said.
His father, Rick Sr., 40, general manager of the restaurant, was taken to the hospital, and listed in stable condition Saturday night.
Arrested was the gunman, a 51-year-old Buffalo man who has been working as a dishwasher at Merge since May.
Ernesto Arechavaleta-Taureaux, a resident of Porter Avenue on the city's West Side, has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
He was scheduled to be arraigned in City Court this morning.
Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards would not comment on the motive for the attack, other than to say it was a case of workplace violence, part of a disturbing trend seen throughout the nation.
"It's this kind of new phenomenon now in the workplace where there's this lone gunman exhibiting violent behavior," Richards said. "We've seen many instances of this in American culture."
News of the shooting stunned the restaurant's patrons and the community â€" a tragedy considered unlikely for a restaurant that has become a particularly popular destination of young adults.
The owners are sisters Eliza and Sarah Schneider, who carved out a niche for Merge, offering a largely vegetarian menu in a community that offered few venues for vegetarians.
"Our hearts go out to the Costner family at this time," read a posting on the Merge's Facebook page. "We've all lost a wonderful friend and co-worker. We are shocked and saddened by the tragedy that occurred today. It was an isolated incident and a random act of violence."
Here's what happened, according to reports by police and witnesses:
The initial call reporting the double shooting came in at 11:41 a.m., police said.
Six employees, including the Costners and the apparent shooter, were in the restaurant Saturday, preparing to open for lunch at noon.
The restaurant was planning "Drinks & Drawing/Pints & Painting" â€" an afternoon event billed as encouraging artists of any skill level to "come hang out, have a hot cup of tea or a beer and paint/draw."
About 20 minutes before opening, Arechavaleta-Taureaux, a native of Cuba, allegedly began firing multiple shots at his co-workers using a 9 mm handgun.
The shooter narrowly missed one co-worker, who managed to duck.
The Costners, however, were unable to escape the gunfire.
Other employees were able to disarm Arechavaleta-Taureaux and hold him until police arrived. Police recovered a handgun at the scene.
Three ambulances, a fire truck and about a dozen police vehicles converged on the restaurant, blocking northbound traffic on Delaware between Virginia and Edward streets.
An ambulance took Rick Costner Sr. to Erie County Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
Later on, a man â€" who turned out to be the younger Costner â€" was rolled out of the restaurant on a gurney and into an ambulance, as an emergency crew worked intensely to revive him. He appeared to have a gunshot wound to the chest.
The younger Costner was taken to Buffalo General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The restaurant was opened about a year ago by the Schneider sisters, members of a well- known Buffalo family. Their father, Jake, is an architect and songwriter, while their mother, Katie, is a Koessler, a prominent family known for its civic and philanthropic involvement in the city.
A Buffalo News review described Merge as a long, narrow restaurant with a small bar in the back, nice woodwork, bright colors, interesting art and a raised stage and sound system for films and live music. The restaurant threw a New Year's party celebrating its one-year anniversary, and appeared to be successful.
It offers an eclectic, creative vibe, according to the report. Patrons play board games on cozy leather couches. The entertainment ranges from live bands to comedy to local art exhibits.
"The word merge means to combine, unite, or most literally to come together," the restaurant's Facebook page reads. "That's exactly why the name fits our philosophy so well. At merge we hope to bring people together in a place where they can share meals, drinks, art, and ideas."
jtokasz@buffnews.com and jrey@buffnews.com
I heard about this shooting yesterday around 1pm but the only details were that it was on Delaware and Edwards and that three people were shot. I saw that file photo of the gun like you did and thought it was pretty lame. It is very sad, that boy was so young.