Charleston police named 53-year-old Thomas Demetrius Burns (pictured) as the suspect who shot and killed executive restaurant chef Shane Whiddon in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday

Police have identified the suspected gunman in a fatal shooting and hostage standoff at a restaurant in downtown Charleston.

Authorities on Friday named 53-year-old Thomas Demetrius Burns as the suspect who was shot and wounded by officers at Virginia's on King restaurant.

Burns is currently at the Medical University of South Carolina and, while no additional information has been released, authorities said Thursday that the suspect was in critical condition.

Police spokesman Charles Francis said Burns has not been charged.

Authorities and one of the restaurant's owners said Burns was a dishwasher who had been fired and, in retaliation, killed the restaurant's executive chef, 37-year-old Shane Whiddon.

Witnesses say that the gunman entered the restaurant's dining room on Thursday dressed in an apron and a backward baseball cap as waitresses and kitchen staff left hurriedly through the front door.

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Authorities and one of the restaurant's owners said Burns was a dishwasher who had been fired and, in retaliation, killed 37-year-old Whiddon (pictured)

Witnesses say that the gunman entered the dining room dressed in an apron and a backward baseball cap as waitresses and kitchen staff left hurriedly through the front door (Pictured, Whiddon)

The gunman then locked the door and reportedly said: 'There's a new boss in town' and 'I am the new king of Charleston' before shooting Whiddon (pictured)

Police received reports of an active shooter who had taken several hostages around 12.30pm. Authorities say the situation was resolved shortly after 3pm when they shot the gunman

'He said: 'There's a new boss in town',' said Peter Siegert IV, whose family from Galesville, Maryland, was about to dig into their fried chicken lunch at Virginia's.

'I don't think anybody realized he had a gun until after he locked the door.'

The Charleston Post and Courier also quoted other witnesses as saying the 'older black man...walked through the front door holding a small caliber revolver. He locked the door and said: "I am the new king of Charleston".'

The gunman kept his revolver by his side, never pointing it at patrons in the crowded restaurant as he ordered them to get on the floor and crawl toward the back. Then he ordered them to 'get out', Siegert said.

They fled through the open rear doors. Siegert said he never heard a gunshot.

A neighbor of Whiddon wept and said he was 'just a gem'.

'That man would leave early in the morning and not come home until late at night,' said Terri Thomas Wall. 'He loved to fish. He was always outside when he wasn't working. Outside with his kids or working in the yard.'

Wall said he lived with his wife and two young sons in a home that had previously belonged to his mother in nearby Goose Creek. She said Whiddon always found time to help others, despite his busy schedule.

This map shows the area in downtown Charleston where the fatal shooting took place

Whiddon (pictured) leaves behind a wife and two children. A neighbor described as 'just a gem' who was always helping others

A Georgia native, Whiddon (pictured) was hired a year ago as top chef at Virginia's. He had been cooking for more than 17 years. Whiddon's bio on the company website said his cooking was influenced by his love for hunting, fishing and gardening

A Georgia native, Whiddon was hired a year ago as top chef at Virginia's, located in a tourist-heavy stretch of retail shops and upscale restaurants along King Street.

He had been cooking for more than 17 years at restaurants in the South, including at the Sea Island Company's posh resort on the Georgia coast, according to Holy City Hospitality, the company that owns Virginia's.

Whiddon's bio on the company website said his cooking was influenced by his love for hunting, fishing and gardening.

'We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by what transpired yesterday at our restaurant Virginia's on King,' Marty Wall, managing director of Holy City Hospitality, said in a statement the company posted online.

'We are devastated by the passing of Shane Whiddon, our beloved and well-respected chef and friend.'

Holy City Hospitality did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.

After shooting Whiddon, the gunman held a person hostage for about three hours before police shot the suspect, critically wounding him, according to authorities.

Hostage negotiators, SWAT officers and bomb specialists were on the scene in Charleston before Burns was shot by police. Burns is currently at the Medical University of South Carolina. Authorities said Thursday that the suspect was in critical condition

Police officers were seen with guns drawn near Virginia's, where the fired staffer held a hostage. Mayor John Tecklenberg said the hostage was freed uninjured after the standoff

King Street remained closed for a block on either side of the restaurant Thursday evening as police remained at the shooting scene (pictured)

Mayor John Tecklenberg said the hostage was freed uninjured after the standoff.

Tecklenburg added that the shooting was 'the act of a disgruntled employee' and not a terrorist attack or a hate crime.

'This was a tragic case of a disturbed individual, I think, with a history of some mental health challenges,' he said at a news conference.

The restaurant was packed with a lunchtime crowd and the first officers to arrive were able to get the man who was shot and a number of diners out, interim Charleston Police Chief Jerome Taylor said.

King Street remained closed for a block on either side of the restaurant Thursday evening as police remained at the shooting scene.