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OAKLAND -- Oakland police are investigating why two men wearing orange construction vests went into a fast-food restaurant near Lake Merritt to order chicken but ended up shooting and killing two employees.

In official statements, police revealed little Tuesday about the killing of Jose Santa Maria, 26, and Kenneth Bradley, 22, both of Richmond, at a small Wingstop restaurant on Monday just before midnight.

Police said robbery was not a motive, without elaborating. However, law enforcement sources suggested a chaotic situation unfolded at 528 Lake Park Ave., just before the business closed for the night.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the men in the orange vests came in to order food but ended up running to the freezer section in the back of the restaurant, possibly because they felt threatened by a third party.

At least one of the customers was armed, the sources said, and shot the two employees when they went to the freezer to see why the customers had gone there.

Sources said detectives were looking into the possibility that the customer who fired mistook the employees for the third party that had scared him.

Santa Maria and Bradley died at the scene. At the time of the incident, police said, other customers were inside the restaurant, which has a small amount of seating and a television. http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Mystery-in-killings-at-Oakland-Win
gstop-4642249.php

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After seeing one or two men they believed were about to do them harm, Gurley and his friend ran into a back-room freezer, police said. When Santamaria and Bradley followed to investigate, Gurley opened fire, authorities said.

Gurley had told his friend, "The first person that comes in, we're just going to shoot," said Gurley's mother, 51-year-old Lawana Gurley.

Both victims were wearing uniforms, said Santamaria's girlfriend.

Legal expert Steve Clark said Friday that the unusual circumstances make for a "fascinating case." He said the defense could argue that the case is one of manslaughter under the theory of "imperfect self-defense," in which someone overreacts and attacks a perceived aggressor when in fact the target intends no harm.

"The jury would have to decide whether that's reasonable. Even if you perceived an immediate threat, is it reasonable to use deadly force to quell that?" said Clark, a former Santa Clara County prosecutor who is now a defense attorney.

Relatives said Gurley had no plans that night to kill anyone.

"They came with the intention to eat," said his sister, Kyesha Thompson, 33. "They were getting off work, and unfortunately they picked the wrong spot to eat."

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