Suspect sought in fatal stabbing at downtown L.A. restaurant

Authorities on Thursday were continuing to search for a man suspected of fatally stabbing a patron inside a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on New Year’s Day.

Officers responding to a call about 8:40 a.m. at Margarita’s Place in the 100 block of East 7th Street found a man in his 50s with stab wounds in the restaurant, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The wounded man, who has not been identified, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Witnesses told authorities that the man had argued with another man before the second man pulled out a knife and stabbed him, police said.

After the stabbing, the suspect — described as a man in his early to mid-50s — ran from the area and has not been found. A detailed description of the suspect was not immediately available.