Cleaver Weapon of Choice in Palo Alto

A waiter accused of attacking his coworker with a cleaver at a  Palo Alto Chinese restaurant Wednesday evening was arrested Thursday morning at  his Fremont home.

Chun Ren Chen, 62, a waiter at Jade Palace, surrendered peacefully  to police just after 8 a.m., Palo Alto police Agent Dan Ryan said.

Ryan said Chen is likely to be booked on an attempted murder  charge for allegedly slashing his 55-year-old male coworker several times  with the cleaver during a dinner-hour dispute.

A woman answering the phone at the restaurant said that Chen is waiter at the restaurant and the victim a chef. She said she wasn't  working at the time of the incident and was not sure what the argument was  about.

Police are still investigating the motive for the attack, which  was reported at 7:10 p.m. The restaurant is located at 151 S. California Ave.

Ryan said other employees and patrons witnessed the attack.

"I think they were arguing in the dining room, then they walked  back into the kitchen and people heard and, perhaps, partly saw the fracas,"  Ryan said.

Chen then ran from the restaurant, Ryan said. The cleaver was  found just outside.

"I think everybody was pretty shocked when the violence erupted,"  Ryan said.

The victim, who also lives in Fremont but is not believed to be  related to Chen, was taken to Stanford Hospital in critical condition but has  since been stabilized and is expected to survive, Ryan said.

 

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