Police released the shooter without arresting him.

"The victim contributed to the confrontation that ultimately led to his death," Salt Lake City police spokesman Jeff Bedard said. The district attorney will decide whether to file charges sometime in the next few days. No family has been found for the victim, 47-year-old Mike James May.

The shooter works as a security guard at Mama's Southern Plantation, 1394 S. West Temple, and holds a concealed weapons permit, said Mark Cazares, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Rosalind.

About 12:30 p.m., May began yelling from across the street, then walked over and swung his backpack at patrons outside the restaurant, Cazares said. The off-duty restaurant security guard was there, about to eat lunch. When May appeared to reach for a weapon, the employee shot him, Cazares said.

Police did not confirm details of the confrontation, but Bedard said May was shot once in the torso. Paramedics responded, but were not able to save May, who died at the scene.

Cazares said the security guard is about 60 years old and attends Mama's Temple Pentecostal Church, where the Cazareses are pastors.

"He's a friend . . . he never wanted to shoot and kill anybody," Cazares said. "I'm not sure what I would do [in that situation]."

Bedard said officers do not think May had a weapon, but the investigation is ongoing.

Neighbor Robert Herrin said he was in his house at the time of the shooting, but observed the aftermath.

"It's not the most supreme neighborhood," Herrin, 46, said, but he said the area near Franklin Covey Field is a good place to live and is getting safer.

By 3 p.m., the crime scene was cleared and the restaurant returned to serving customers. Near where May was shot, outdoor tables stood under an orange awning. Inside, a family was seated at a pink-clothed table, food awards and framed feature stories lined the wall behind them.

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com