Coloradan Gets Caught Up In 'Panic Wave' During Munich Shootings

MUNICH, Germany (CBS4) - A Coloradan and former employee of CBS4 was dining in the German city of Munich when Friday's shooting that left an unknown number of people dead took place.

Kimo Quaintance told CBS4 he and his girlfriend were in a restaurant apparently very close to where the shooting happened and all of a sudden there was chaos in the establishment.

During a Skype interview only a short time after the violence first broke out, Quaintance described it as a "panic wave" as people started running in terror and chairs were knocked over.

"Right in the middle of dinner we suddenly heard screaming from the front of the restaurant," he said. "There was just a rush -- there was just a panic of people running to the back of the restaurant where we were sitting. Chairs were falling over and people were trampling each other."

He grabbed his girlfriend and ran to the back of the restaurant and down a staircase. There was no exit at the back, so he said he barricaded the two of them inside a bathroom in the cellar.

Eventually, they came out and went back to their home.

It turned out the restaurant didn't get attacked. No one that was in there was hurt other than some minor injuries due to broken glass. So far it's unclear how close the shooting was to the actual restaurant.

Quaintance lives in Germany for work most of the year and returns home to his family's home in Bailey periodically. He formerly worked for CBS4 in the engineering department.

CBS News reported that police were searching for three shooters after the rampage.

Watch live coverage of the shootings on CBSN.