Fate of Carson City IHOP undecided

CARSON CITY -- A month after a gunman went on a deadly rampage at a Carson City IHOP, residents are split over what to do with the restaurant.

While some want the diner to reopen at the same site, others want it moved elsewhere in town. Another suggestion was to tear the building down and make it a memorial, the Nevada Appeal reported.

Eduardo Sencion fired 60 rounds from an assault rifle at the IHOP on Sept. 6, killing four people and injuring seven others before killing himself. Three of those killed were members of the Nevada National Guard.

Ron Kendall of Carson City said he's trying to rally support to reopen the restaurant at the same location. He said he spoke with IHOP regional manager Peter Kouis last week, and Kouis indicated a decision on the building's fate was pending.

IHOP spokeswoman Rhonda Barnat declined to say whether any decision has been made on the fate of the closed restaurant.

"Right now we are focused on the needs of our employees and our guests," she said.

Kevin Carrick, who was in the restaurant at the time of the shooting, said it would it would be a mistake for IHOP to reopen at the site. He has urged Kouis to consider reopening at other sites in town.

"They can expect to not have business" if they re-open at the same site, Carrick said. "I think that's an asinine idea, to reopen there and act like nothing's happened.

"I would love to have them reopen in town. But to reopen there it is telling us they don't respect us and they don't care about what happened," he added.

Bruce Magner of Gardnerville offered another option: raze the building and turn the site into a memorial for victims.