Man points gun at Applebee's employee
Police looking for a man suspected of assaulting a woman in Ocean Twp.
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Police are searching for the man responsible for pointing a gun at an Ocean Township Applebee's Restaurant employee and then assaulting a woman in the business' parking lot this month.

Police received a report of a man with a gun outside of the Applebee's Restaurant on Route 66 on Dec. 8 at approximately 12:21 a.m., according to Detective Lt. Steven R. Peters of the Ocean Township Police Department.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a group of people standing in the parking lot and a woman lying on the ground, according to police reports.

Police later learned that the female victim was struck in the face by an unknown man holding a gun.

According to Peters, a dispute started in the restaurant between a group of patrons. Upon noticing the argument, an Applebee's employee asked the involved parties to exit the restaurant.

While the patrons involved in the dispute were leaving the restaurant, an unknown blue 1990s model car described as being possibly a Ford, Taurus or Sable, pulled into the parking lot, according to Peters.

While one of the restaurant's employees was trying to break up the argument outside, an unknown male exited the Ford and walked up to the employee and pointed a gun at him, Peters said.

The employee then walked back into the restaurant and called police, according to reports.

The unknown male proceeded to walk over to a 21-year-old Asbury Park woman standing with the group in the parking lot and struck her in the face with the same hand in which he was holding the gun, according to Peters.

The woman fell to the ground and suffered a laceration to her face. She was taken to the Jersey Shore Medical Center by the Wanamassa First Aid Squad, where she was treated for the injury to her face, according to reports.

The unknown male was described as being in his early 20s and approximately 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing a large black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and a red skullcap.

Police are asking for anyone with information on the incident to contact Detective Patrick Martin or Detective James Loizos of the Ocean Township Police Department at (732) 531-1800.