FARGO — Plaza Azteca was closed Thursday, May 19, to allow the workers who witnessed Wednesday's shooting to have a day off for a mental break. On Friday, all employees will return to work as 50% of all sales will go to 21-year-old Lucia Garcia and her 7-month-old son, Dominique.
Lucia Garcia was shot in the upper-right chest. She is in stable condition in the ICU at Sanford Health. Dominique suffered a bullet wound to his stomach and fingers. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
They were shot by 24-year-old Malik Gill, Garcia's fiance and father of the child. He shot and killed himself during a police chase in Clay County after the shooting in Fargo.
Police still aren't sure why Gill shot his fiance and son.
"We just want to help, and that's our main priority right now," said Gissell Leon, whose dad co-owns Plaza Azteca.
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She was not there when the shooting happened, but arrived right after, and saw people trying to save the mother and her baby.
"It's heartbreaking to see that someone could do that to their loved ones," explained Leon, referring to the the mother and baby and then watching the incident on security cameras.
Leon started posting updates on the restaurant's social media pages, and that's when comments starting catching her eyes.
"(I) saw all the love and support and people were commenting us," she said. "I saw this comment that people would love to help out. "
Leon was then told that the family often ate at the restaurant. She felt she had to give back to mom and baby.
"We know they support us and love us, and we're just trying to give back that love they gave to us," Leon said.
The restaurant called on employees Thursday to discuss reopening Friday and raising money to help the family.
"Everybody knew that this was the right choice and that everybody was on board with it," she said. "They are ready to help support the families and help bring peace to this whole situation that happened."
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Plaza Azteca is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday.
The Trust Project
