situation in downtown charleston, south carolina. go to cnn s reporter monitoring developments for us. what are you hearing? reporter: wolf, officials on the ground calls this a hostage situation. also believed to have been caused by a disgruntled employee according to the mayor of the city of charleston. we understand the suspect is still inside a restaurant on king street, a very, very popular area there in downtown charleston. restaurants and stores, not just because of the lunch hour, also a big tourist location as well. you imagine, authorities are making sure they re able to seal off this restaurant. information just coming in to cnn now confirming what is a hostage situation at a restaurant in downtown charleston. the suspect believed to still be inside the restaurant along with multiple individuals. a little bit of back story here from about an hour ago or so when this information first came in, or the call initially came in of an active shooter
the information we re getting from sarah cobb, owner of a nearby store, called mosa boutique. sayre rey saying the restaurant is called virginia s saying the streets are full of s.w.a.t. and police and people heavily armed. they are blocking off the whole block. when i heard sirens i looked out my window and saw officers with guns drawn pointed towards virginia s. the name of the restaurant. on king street. i heard police talking to a woman who was a witness to the shooting. police are evacuating nearby business. i see a hair salon just evacuated. so that gives us a little more information on the intense reaction from s.w.a.t. and local police, tom. well, certainly. it would raise the possibility that you either have a barricaded subject in one of those establishments, or you actually have hostages being held. you know, if it s a restaurant, or another store.