iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — In the middle of busy Sunday brunch, employees at a popular Upper West Side restaurant in Manhattan discovered something very unexpected in the kitchen.
A man who had been hiding in the restaurant’s freezer emerged and tried to attack employees with a knife. The staff were able to avoid harm and subdue the 54-year-old Arizona man, who collapsed on the floor.
“Our team handled the incident bravely and effectively,” a manager at the restaurant, Sarabeth’s, told ABC News.
When police responded to the call around 11 a.m. on Sunday, the man was unconscious and unresponsive in the kitchen. He was transported to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police told ABC News.
Sarabeth’s had been open for three hours before the attack occurred, but was closed while police investigated the incident.
The manager said he is grateful that no one was injured. The restaurant is open again and serving customers.
It is not known how or when the man gained access to the restaurant’s freezer. Police are investigating the incident and a medical examiner will determine cause of death.
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