Encinitas coffee shop owner, bystander wounded in shooting

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San Diego County Sheriff’s Department vehicle. (Sheriff’s Department social media photo)

North Coast Current

A suspect is in custody after a shooting Thursday, Oct. 13, that wounded a coffee shop owner and bystander in Encinitas, authorities reported.

The incident happened at about 8 a.m. outside Ironsmith Coffee Roasters in the 400 block of South Coast Highway 101 when a man was asked to leave the coffee shop after causing a disturbance, according to a San Diego County Sheriff’s Department report.

A verbal altercation in a nearby alley led to a fight during which the shop owner took out a gun, authorities stated. The gun went off during the struggle. The coffee shop owner was grazed at the back of his neck and a bystander was hit in the leg by shrapnel.

The business owner ran to a fire station about a block west of the shop when the suspect grabbed the gun and fled, the Sheriff’s Department reported. Firefighters found the suspect and detained him.

Authorities identified the suspect as Jmar Tarafa, 21, who was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a firearm in a threatening manner. The shop owner is not facing charges, the Sheriff’s Department stated.

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