Police release photos of Aurora restaurant shooting suspect. Ask for help in finding him

AURORA | Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in the shooting of an Aurora restaurant employee Sunday night.

An unnamed employee was shot and injured about 9:30 p.m. while working inside the Panda Buffet 2597 E. Mississippi Ave.

“The investigation to date has determined the suspect entered through a side door, pulled a handgun from his coat and fired at the victim,” Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a social media post Tuesday. “The restaurant was closing and there were no customers inside at the time of the shooting.”

Screen shots from security camera footage show the suspect firing his gun inside the restaurant.

“The victim is an adult male who was transported to the hospital,” Aurora police spokesperson Sydney Edwards said in a statement. “His injuries are serious and non-life threatening.”

No one else was injured in the shooting, police said.

“The suspect is described as a Latino male, about 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighing approximately 115 pounds,” Moylan said. “He was wearing black pants, a black jacket with a hood, black shoes with white soles and a tan scarf covering his face. He was last seen running from the shooting north on South Salem Street.”

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the gunman and caution anyone who believes they see or know him not to approach the suspect, as he is considered dangerous.

Police gave no details about the motive behind the shooting, other than to say the investigation is ongoing.

“It is unclear how the incident started and if the victim and the suspect knew each other,” Edwards said.