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Waffle House Good Samaritan Shot Dead After Handing Out $20 Bill To Pay For Strangers' Meals

Police say a fight began when a woman got angry that Craig Brewer didn’t pay for her meal.

A Florida Good Samaritan was fatally shot after he handed money to strangers at a Gainesville Waffle House to help pay for meals.

Craig Artez Brewer, 41, showed up to the Waffle House on Sunday with $20 bills in hand. As he began handing out money to customers, a dispute broke out, reports the Miami Herald.

According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Brewer got into an argument with Ezekiel Luke Hicks (pictured above) when a female friend of Hicks was upset she didn’t receive any money.  

Hicks started an argument with Brewer that eventually turned physical.

A crowd began to gather inside and outside of the Waffle House as several witnesses called 911.

In one 3 a.m. call, a woman told a dispatcher “a fight is ready to erupt at Waffle House as 30 to 40 people in here are getting out of control arguing and fighting.”

As Alachua deputies made their way to the scene, a second 911 call reported a man was shot.

“Someone got shot,” the man told the 911 dispatcher. “Dude got shot in the head. A big dude in a green shirt shot some dude in the head and ran away.”

According to deputies, Hicks, 25, left the restaurant, retrieved a handgun, and approached Brewer.

“Despite the efforts of at least one bystander, the suspect went back inside, approached the victim, and a physical fight started. As the fight continued, the suspect took the handgun from his pants and shot Brewer in the head,” Alachua deputies told the Miami Herald.

Brewer died on the scene.

Hicks was immediately arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder and carrying a concealed, unlicensed firearm. He is being held without bail at Alachua County Jail.

The Alachua Sheriff’s Department asks that any witnesses with additional information call the Criminal Investigations Division at 352-367-4170.

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