Manhunt underway after Applebee’s ‘execution-style killing’

<p>A Lawrence Township man was shot and killed inside a Mercer County Applebee&rsquo;s early Tuesday morning while sitting at the bar.</p>

News 12 Staff

Nov 14, 2017, 12:18 PM

Updated 2,353 days ago

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Manhunt underway after Applebee’s ‘execution-style killing’
A manhunt continued Wednesday for the person behind what investigators described as an “execution-style killing” at an Applebee’s restaurant in Lawrence Township.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Devin Smith, 23, was seated just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday at the bar at the restaurant located on Route 1. The office said a black man in his mid-20s came into the Applebee’s, shot Smith in the head and then fled in a dark-colored SUV.
Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
Dine Equality, the parent company of Applebee’s, released the following statement:
Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said his office will be looking at surveillance video from inside the restaurant and gathering as much information as possible from customers who witnessed the shooting.
"We have several promising leads and are hoping to make an arrest soon,” Onofri told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
It was the first homicide in the community in more than 16 years.
Anyone who might have any information about the shooting is urged to call the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-989-6406.
The Associated Press news wire service contributed to this report.


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