FBI, Pasadena Police Announce Friday Morning Press Conference About Cheesecake Factory Incendiary Device Incident

A press conference has been announced for this morning at which Pasadena Police and FBI officials are expected to announce updated information about the investigation on efforts to find the suspect who threw an incendiary device into the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Old Pasadena on February 2.

In that incident, a man threw an explosive pyrotechnic device into the crowded restaurant on the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue, sending panicky diners streaming out the exits but causing no injuries, police and witnesses said.

That night, Pasadena Police Lt. Art Chute reported the man opened the main entrance doors to the Cheesecake Factory, and tossed inside what appeared to be a home-made pyrotechnic explosive device containing gunpowder.

The device discharged and issued smoke, causing customers to flee, according to witnesses.

There were no injuries, Chute said. Witnesses said there was no significant damage to restaurant.

KNBC-TV reports indicated that the device ended up underneath an unoccupied table which shielded the force of the explosion.

Fleeing diners left behind partially-eaten dinners, cell phones and even a baby stroller in their haste.

A woman who said she was dining in the restaurant said “a man (looked Middle Eastern) open[ed] the door to the restaurant, threw something that looked like a ball inside then closed the door and took off running, then within seconds you hear an explosion sound and everyone started running.”

Police said at the time that the suspect, whom they described as Hispanic or Middle Eastern in appearance, fled southbound on South Fair Oaks Avenue.

The suspect was dressed in black, wore a black beanie and had a “robust beard,” Chute said.