Mystery in killings at Oakland Wingstop

Two employees died from gunshot wounds at Wing Stop restaurant in Oakland late Monday night.

Two employees died from gunshot wounds at Wing Stop restaurant in Oakland late Monday night. Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Mystery in killings at Oakland Wingstop 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

(07-03) 08:28 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland police are investigating why two men wearing orange construction vests went into a fast-food restaurant near Lake Merritt to order chicken but ended up shooting and killing two employees.

In official statements, police revealed little Tuesday about the killing of Jose Santa Maria, 26, and Kenneth Bradley, 22, both of Richmond, at a small Wingstop restaurant on Monday just before midnight.

Police said robbery was not a motive, without elaborating. They said they had arrested one of the two men who had visited the business and were in the process of securing the other man's surrender but did not name either suspect.

However, law enforcement sources suggested a chaotic situation unfolded at 528 Lake Park Ave., just before the business closed for the night.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the men in the orange vests came in to order food but ended up running to the freezer section in the back of the restaurant, possibly because they felt threatened by a third party.

At least one of the customers was armed, the sources said, and shot the two employees when they went to the freezer to see why the customers had gone there.

Customers fled

The customers fled after the shooting, police said.

It was not immediately clear whether the customers were indeed construction workers or whether either of the Wingstop employees were armed when they were shot.

Sources, though, said detectives were looking into the possibility that the customer who fired mistook the employees for the third party that had scared him.

Santa Maria and Bradley died at the scene. At the time of the incident, police said, other customers were inside the restaurant, which has a small amount of seating and a television.

Investigators on Tuesday were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses, said Officer Johnna Watson, a police spokeswoman, who joined interim Police Chief Sean Whent at the crime scene.

"Through our investigation, we figured out who we were looking for and were able to do surveillance and take that person into custody" in West Oakland, said Whent.

Alameda County prosecutors must decide by Friday whether the suspects should face charges.

The girlfriend and relatives of Santa Maria consoled each other early Tuesday around the police yellow tape that cordoned off the restaurant, struggling to make sense of the killings. They said Santa Maria worked in the kitchen.

Police patrols

The shooting happened hours after police issued a community advisory saying that they were boosting patrols around Lakeside Park, the park along the northern edge of Lake Merritt, because of "multiple robberies and robbery attempts during late-night and early-morning hours when the park is closed to the public."

The lake is adjacent to the Grand Lake and Lakeshore commercial districts, where businesses have fallen prey to armed holdups in recent years. The Wingstop is located across the street from the site of the Grand Lake Farmers Market on Saturdays and down the block from the Grand Lake Theater.

Police Capt. Anthony Toribio plans to hold community meetings about the double slaying at 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church at 3534 Lakeshore Ave.