Man Slays Woman in Cafe, Escapes

A woman was killed early Sunday morning in a South San Diego cafe by a man who fired several shots that struck her in the head and chest.

The man, who had been eating at the cafe with two women, killed the victim after he strode to the table where she was talking with the bar manager of the cafe.

The killer then fled Lydia’s Cafe, in the 1600 block of Palm Avenue, with the two women in a car believed to be a Camaro, San Diego Police Sgt. Micki Farrell said.

“He just got up and shot her,” a woman who said she is one of the cafe owners related. “We don’t know the reason. We don’t know the motive.”

The owner said that the victim had spent some time in the cafe Saturday night and had just asked the bar manager for a job as a cocktail waitress when she was slain. No one else was injured in the 2:38 a.m. shooting, police said.

Police are searching for a 5-foot, 8-inch tall Latino who is about 45 years old. He has brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache, police said. No description was available for his companions.

The identity of the victim, a 27-year-old Latina, was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.