Victim dies after being shot at Giggling Gator

Historic City News has learned that 41 year-old Christopher Linus Fries is in custody this morning, held without bond and charged with capital murder in the killing of another man at the Giggling Gator Pub on King Street in St. Augustine last night at about 8:30 p.m.

Fries, who resides at 410 22nd Street in Saint Augustine, was observed by a witness who recalls him brandishing a handgun and arguing loudly with his victim in the parking lot.

Public Information Officer Mark Samson told local reporters that police were in route to the scene of the disturbance when Officer Frank Shipp heard the gun go off. Shipp secured the firearm and Fries within moments; aided by Corporal Brian Frasca.

According to police, both men had been drinking and they are believed to have been arguing with each other over a woman. Police say Fries shot his victim behind the left ear; they did not report the number of times Fries fired his weapon.

The victim received emergency medical treatment at the scene; however, he died before he arrived at Flagler Hospital. Samson said that his name could be released once his family has been located and notified.

Police ordered the pub “closed” for several hours. A secure perimeter was established until a team of crime scene technicians from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrived to collect available evidence.

Fries was booked at the St. Johns County Detention Facility at about 1:15 a.m. this morning.

In recent months, the Giggling Gator has been the scene of another high-profile, violent crime — when an illegal alien from Nicaragua was arrested after he allegedly attacked and sexually assaulted a woman when she left the pub to make a phone call. In the incident reported by Historic City News on June 18, the victim was choked and beaten until she was rendered unconscious.