Posted at: 06/20/2009 2:05 PM
Updated at: 06/21/2009 1:28 PM
By: Valerie Castro and Cris Ornelas, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

1 dead as gunmen open fire in restaurant

An employee was fatally shot during a robbery Saturday morning at this Denny's near I-40 and Coors NW.

A restaurant employee is dead after a takeover-style robbery at a northwest Albuquerque Denny's Saturday morning.

Police spokeswoman Officer Nadine Hamby says "multiple" armed suspects rushed the restaurant at 1602 Coors Blvd. NW at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Witnesses reported seeing between two-to-six masked, armed men inside the restaurant demanding employees open the cash register.

During the robbery, a young female restaurant employee was shot and killed. Her identity had not been released as of Saturday evening.

Two suspects were in custody, according to police.

The names of suspects, who were booked Saturday night, were not immediately released.

The two suspects were arrested within minutes of the crime on charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and child abuse because there were at least five children in the restaurant at the time.

As many as 100 people were inside the restaurant during the busy breakfast rush. Many hid under tables during the terrifying ordeal.

Police pieced together what happened from more than 60 eyewitness accounts.

"We're going to have to talk to each one of those people and they're basically our eyes and our ears to tell us exactly what happened and what they saw," Hamby told Eyewitness News 4 on Saturday.

The mother of Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez was inside the restaurant at the time of the holdup.

"She said it was a terrifying, upsetting situation," said Sanchez. "People were screaming. Employees were running. Gunfire was going off. So just total chaos. She [my mother] was lying on the floor not knowing if she was going to live or she was going to die."

"What they went through is a terrible tragedy, whether they didn't see anything or maybe they heard something, it's something that's pretty serious, and we want to make sure that they're not traumatized by this and that they're getting the help," Hamby said.

Hamby said counselors would be available to the patrons and employees of the restaurant to help deal with the tragic events they witnessed.

Following the robbery, police got a tip at least one suspect was hiding in the Vista Mobile Home Park nearby near 98th Street and Central Avenue. A SWAT team surrounded the area and prevented residents from coming or going. After about seven hours, police determined the home they had surrounded was empty and allowed residents to return to the area.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.