Gunman kills two, injures third

A gunman opened fire at a bar in the city’s Japantown section, killing two people and injuring a third, police said Sunday.

Joseph Melcher, 25, of Redwood City, was arrested shortly after the shootings Saturday night, and was booked on suspicion of homicide, suspicion of attempted homicide and suspicion of assault with a firearm.

Witnesses told authorities that Melcher walked into The Flow about 9:15 p.m., encountered three women, asked for someone by name, then pulled out a handgun and began shooting, said police spokesman Sgt. Steve Mannina.

Melcher shot and injured the female bartender, authorities said. He then shot another woman, Song Sun Lee, 34, who died at the scene, Mannina said.

As Melcher left the bar, he got into an altercation with Kam Yan Li and shot him, police said. Li, 22, died at a hospital Sunday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The 40-year-old bartender was listed in stable condition.

HARTFORD, Conn.

Same-sex couples may enjoy blessing

Episcopal parishes in Connecticut may bless same-sex couples, the state’s bishop announced over the weekend.

Bishop Andrew Smith’s decision does not create an official prayer service for the blessings and does not allow Episcopal clergy to officiate at civil unions. But it allows parishes to acknowledge gay and lesbian couples who have had a civil union granted by the state.

“What I have permitted is a pastoral ministry of blessing, which does not mimic a wedding ceremony,” Smith said Saturday after the diocese’s two-day annual convention ended.

Smith said he acted because Connecticut began recognizing civil unions last year, but there has been no movement on the issue by the national Episcopal Church. Each diocese handles the issue differently, with some allowing parishes to decide on their own whether they should bless gay couples and others barring the practice.

McMINNVILLE, Tenn.

Officer sues over spit-and-serve

A police officer has filed a lawsuit against the Waffle House restaurant chain and one of its former cooks, claiming the cook admitted to spitting in the officer’s food.

Police Lt. John Morgan accused 19-year-old Homer Disher in the lawsuit of spitting in his order of hash browns and eggs before serving them to him last September.

“He had his back slightly to me, and I saw the spit hit the food,” Morgan said. “I was furious.”

The lawsuit seeks $82,500. In court papers, Morgan said Disher told his manager what he had done and the manager did nothing to warn Morgan or report the incident to police.

Morgan said he thought Disher was upset over a warning he gave Disher and a friend during a traffic stop a few weeks before the incident.

Disher has been charged with adulteration of food and retaliation for past actions, both felonies. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in prison, the Southern Standard newspaper reported.