Man Arrested in Buffalo Wedding Anniversary Party Massacre

Aug. 14, 2010— -- A man was arrested today and charged with four counts of murder in the shooting early this morning at a Buffalo, N.Y., restaurant that left four people dead, including a man who had come from Texas with his wife to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary.

Keith Johnson, 25, of Buffalo, was charged with four counts of murder in the second degree and additional charges are pending, Buffalo Police Department Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards said in a statement released this evening.

Police said they believe Johnson was the only gunman involved in the shooting.

Investigators believe Johnson was inside the City Grill restaurant when some kind of dispute broke out.

"There were verbal things going on. Management apparently chose to close down and have everybody leave the restaurant," Richards said. "People were leaving when this shooting happened."

The victims were believed to be all members of a large group of people celebrating on the eve of a party for the couple's one-year wedding anniversary.

"There may have been some other people in the restaurant at the same time," police spokesman Michael DeGeorge said. "There was some type of dispute that occurred in the restaurant. It spilled outside, and that's where the shooting occurred."

The couple live in Texas, but had come to Buffalo to celebrate with friends in the area, police said.

There were approximately 100 people at the restaurant at the time of the shooting, and at a news conference this afternoon, Buffalo police commissioner Daniel Derenda asked anybody who saw anything to contact police.

"We know there's plenty of people out there that witnessed this tragic event," Derenda said. "We need them to come forward."

Police have not yet released the names of the victims, pending family notification, DeGeorge said.