The shooting happened around 8:15 p.m. at a shopping center at Louisburg and Perry Creek roads.
Police say they found the owner of NY Style Pizza, 36-year-old Jay Waheed Ammeri, wounded when they arrived after receiving a 911 call. Emergency workers took him to WakeMed where he later died.
Ammeri's father tells ABC11 that the gunman entered the restaurant through an opened back entrance during business hours and demanded to see the owner. But, he says, it didn't appear to be a robbery.
He says the gunman then shot his son in the chest, in front of his family - who were standing just feet away. Customers and employees were also inside the restaurant when the shooting happened.
Authorities arrested the alleged gunman, 43-year-old William Damieon Edwards, a short time after the shooting at his home on Great Laurel Drive after police officers evacuated nearby houses.
Edwards has been charged with murder in connection with Ammeri's death and is currently being held in the Wake County Jail.
Police say Ammeri and Edwards did know each other, but it's still not clear what the relationship between them was. They say Edwards was not a disgruntled employee or former employee of the restaurant.
Edwards' neighbors say his wife works at a nail salon just a few doors down from NY Style Pizza.
According to charging documents obtained by ABC11, Edwards has a long criminal history that includes attempted murder.
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