The active shooter came from the back of the restaurant called Virginia’s, dressed in a kitchen apron, and began shooting at the frightened guests who were dining at the eatery, located between Calhoun and Morris Streets downtown.
The suspect was described as a middle-aged man.
Eyewitnesses told the local press that he shouted “I am the new king of Charleston.”
Hostage negotiators are on the scene along with medics, The Charleston Post and Courier reports.
Businesses in the area are on lockdown due to the active shooter.
Police are asking people to avoid the area.
Sarah Cobb, owner of MOSA boutique told CNN: “Right now the streets are full of SWAT and police and people heavily armed. They are blocking off the whole block.”
She said that police had drawn their guns and evacuated nearby businesses.
Officers have pointed their guns toward the restaurant.
Mayor John Tecklenburg said that the incident was not related to terror.
He said: “This was not an act of terrorism.”
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