SEATTLE — Beth’s Cafe in Seattle said a man who was asked to leave the restaurant early Sunday hurled a “no parking” street sign through the diner’s window – sending glass flying inside as people were eating.
The 24-hour restaurant near Green Lake shared surveillance video with KIRO 7 in hopes of someone identifying the man who is seen on video quickly leaving in a car driven by someone else as people ran out of the restaurant.
The video shows the driver hitting a parked car behind them as people banged on the car that eventually drove south on Aurora Avenue.
Shantel Hagerman, a manager at Beth’s Cafe, said the unidentified man left behind nearly $3,000 in damage.
Video from inside the restaurant around 3:30 a.m. Sunday showed customers duck down as the shattered glass went into the diner. An employee had left a table near the window less than a minute before the sign was thrown into it.
"Could have been seriously hurt,” said Hagerman, who said no one was reportedly hurt.
Hagerman said the man who threw the sign had walked into Beth’s Cafe with a group of people. She said one person with him was told to leave soon after arriving for behaving aggressively with a customer already inside.
"He started throwing a fit,” said Hagerman. “Then sat outside and waited patiently for his friends to come out."
The man’s friends were then asked to leave the restaurant, according to Hagerman, who said one of them then shattered the window before taking off.
"Definitely [shaken] and I think a little scared and frightened,” said Hagerman, describing the feeling at the restaurant after.
A spokesperson for Seattle police could not immediately provide additional details Sunday. Hagerman said they passed along the license plate of the car the group left in and were not aware of any arrests made Sunday.
She and others at Beth’s Cafe want the man to be identified and face the consequences.
"He damaged our property,” said Hagerman. “This is like our home and he damaged our home."
Contact Seattle police with tips related to the man in the video’s identity.
More news from KIRO 7