IHOP to reopen at same site

A spokeswoman for the IHOP restaurant in Carson City where a massacre took place last month announced Wednesday that the restaurant would reopen in the same location.

"The Carson City IHOP will reopen, we hope, in time for the holidays," said Rhonda Barnat. "We are very appreciative of the support of the community in the aftermath of a senseless tragedy. We will always remember the victims and their families and all those who continue to heal.

"We look forward, with gratitude, to serving the community once again."

Barnat would not say whether the restaurant is owned by the corporation or by a franchisee; nor would she say who made the decision to reopen. She declined to answer any other questions.

The IHOP, at 3883 S. Carson St., has been closed since Sept. 6, when gunman Eduardo Sencion, 32, fired some 60 rounds from an automatic weapon at the restaurant, killing four people, including three uniformed National Guard soldiers, and injuring seven others. Sencion, diagnosed at age 18 with schizophrenia, then fatally shot himself in the parking lot.

No motive other than mental illness has been found, and police are certain Sencion was not targeting the soldiers, said Sheriff Ken Furlong.

The community has had mixed views on whether the restaurant should open.

"I'm numb. It's a shame," said survivor Kevin Carrick, who opposed the restaurant reopening in the same location. "I understand their position. I think if I was a business owner I'd do my best to reopen my business. But, gosh - the only thing I'm bothered by is that people died in that place. I don't know how they are going to rearrange it so you're not sitting where people were shot."