ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Brekencur Akins walked around the counter to show off the wall where the TV should have been.<\/p>\n
She pointed to the hole that stretched from behind where she usually stood all the way to the other side,<\/p>\n
The kitchen, she explained. The heart of her restaurant, Sister Soul Food.<\/p>\n
The hole was a few inches higher than the top of her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bullet went through my bonnet to the TV,\u201d Akins said. \u201cAll I could feel was when customers were under the table, all over the place. People running out the back door\u2026 We thought everything was over with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since its opening two years ago, Sister Soul Food has become the heart of Parramore Avenue. Known for cheap, quality meals, the line begins forming well before the restaurant opens and lasts until the food runs out.<\/p>\n
Though it\u2019s almost always a packed house, Sundays are their busiest day of the week, and a few minutes before 1 p.m. is their busiest time.<\/p>\n
Akins and her niece, Dejanay Whitehead, said the group of teenagers had been hanging out at the restaurant, waiting for food. Akins said her nephew was the first to notice the gun \u2013 and the shooting began seconds later.<\/p>\n
After the hail stopped, the teenagers ran outside, Akins recalled. Then, the shooting started again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about the lives that were at stake here,\u201d Whitehead said, mentioning the crowd of older people who had just gotten out of church and who had to hide under tables. \u201cOur customers\u2019 lives were at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orlando police investigators said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two groups of teens. Four of them were hurt, including one who witnesses said was shot in the neck.<\/p>\n
One of the teens, who had a bullet go through his leg, didn\u2019t realize he had been shot until he got home, people who knew him said.<\/p>\n
Next door, Pastor Lydia Collier of Desire for All Nations Church said she sheltered about 20 kids inside her office. She said she had just finished working with a youth group and delivered a sermon about being thankful they had been protected from violence.<\/p>\n
She is now planning her next Sunday session \u2013 one that will be less sermon and more about helping the kids deal with trauma.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want them to know we\u2019re praying for them,\u201d Collier said, of the youth group and the teenagers who were hurt.<\/p>\n
Whitehead said Sister Soul Food will remain closed until they can get a new front window, out of concern for their customers\u2019 safety near the broken glass.<\/p>\n
The family said they\u2019re taking it one day at a time to help each other and their customers through the emotions that follow trauma.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started this for this community because we knew there were a lot of low-income families in this community,\u201d Akins explained. \u201cWe moved over here to help the community and lift up and build relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
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