Mother says man made threats before Applebee's shooting

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.,None — The mother of a man shot and critically injured after an argument over a football game believes the shooting could have been prevented.
 
Christopher Middleton, 30, was having dinner with two friends at the Applebee's restaurant on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth Saturday night.
 
Hours later, his mother, Michelle Williams Gore, got a call from police.
 
"That was very alarming to get that kind of phone call," she told Channel 2 Action News reporter Manuel Bojorquez.  "That your son has been shot over a football game. He doesn't even watch football," she said.
 
Police said another customer at the restaurant, 31-year-old Donald Ray Ayro, became upset after Middleton's group cheered when the San Francisco 49ers scored a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints.
 
Gore said witnesses have since told her that Ayro was belligerent and acting up throughout the afternoon.
 
"They had plenty of time early on in the afternoon to address how out of control, out of order, he was," she said. She believes a manager should have called police to handle Ayro after customers heard him making threats, drinking and taking some kind of pills.
 
Investigators said Ayro left the restaurant, but was in the parking lot with a gun when Middleton and his friends were leaving and he opened fire. One man was grazed by a bullet, but Middleton was shot in the abdomen.
 
"It's absolutely senseless," she said. 
 
In a statement, an Applebee's spokesman said the safety of guests and team members is their highest priority and one they take very seriously. 
 
The statement continues, "As authorities continue to investigate this incident, we continue to cooperate fully, but because the investigation is ongoing, we're unable to comment."
 
Middleton recently moved to Atlanta from Los Angeles where he worked as a comedian and actor and was back in town to help his family establish a community theater center.
 
He remains in critical condition at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, where he's undergone two surgeries so far.
 
His mother says she can't wait to hear his voice, and his humor, once again.
 
"He's really going to have some jokes when he comes out of this hospital," she said. "I'm sure he'll find something to laugh and joke about even in the bad situation of this happening."
 

WSBTV