Police: Danbury Restaurant Owner Arrested After Gun Accidentally Fired

DANBURY, Conn. - A call about shots fired inside a restaurant sent Danbury officers to The Market Place Restaurant on Mill Plain Road on Sunday evening, police said.

The Danbury Police Department asks that residents contact them if they fear for their safety or the safety of the community.
Photo Credit: *Alfred Branch, file photo*

by Alissa Smith

07/08/2013 1:30 p.m.

Witnesses said they had been eating at their table when they heard a loud popping noise and debris fell on their table, police said. Officers then located a bullet hole in a rear booth and determined the bullet had come from the direction of the restaurant office, police said.

Officers interviewed the owner, Elias Hawli, 29, who initially denied firing the gun, the police report said. But a plaque had been placed on the wall to cover the bullet hole in the office, the police report said.

Hawli, a Danbury resident, later admitted that the gun had accidentally gone off, police said. He was charged with interfering with a police officer and released on a written promise to appear. Hawli was due to appear at Danbury Superior Court on July 18.

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