Brian Lee, at 19, could have been hanging out with friends late Saturday night, or driving around with a girl, or watching TV at home like many people his age.

Instead, he was working the night shift at Damon's Grill at The Waterfront, helping his manager close the restaurant, when he was shot and killed early yesterday morning. The killing was the second in two weeks at The Waterfront.

Mr. Lee, a kitchen worker, had just finished taking out the garbage at about 12:40 a.m. yesterday when a tall black man in the parking lot yelled at him. The man then tried to follow Mr. Lee through the restaurant's back door to the kitchen, according to West Homestead Mayor John Dindak.

"So the kid went inside and tried to hold the door shut and there was a little opening in the door," Mr. Dindak said. "The shooter put his hand inside the door and shot the kid and killed him."

The killer, whom police have not arrested, then emptied the store's cash register and made the manager open the restaurant's safe, stealing an undetermined amount of money, according to the police.

Out of respect for Mr. Lee and his family, friends and co-workers, restaurant officials said, Damon's at The Waterfront was closed yesterday and will remain closed today. It will reopen tomorrow.

Anyone with information about the crime can contact the Allegheny County Police at 412-473-1300 or 412-473-3000.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Lee's two-tone red and black Mustang -- its rear left tire a rusty spare missing its hubcap -- was still parked in the back lot a hundred feet or so from the kitchen door where he was killed. A bouquet of yellow roses and baby's breath had been tucked beneath the driver's side windshield wiper.

At the restaurant's front door, a few workers who hadn't heard about the murder showed up as usual for their shift, only to find the doors locked and a "closed" notice posted without explanation. They were horrified to learn of Mr. Lee's death.

"Oh, my God!" one supervisor cried when she was told. "I told them and told them to lock that back door -- I knew something like this was going to happen. Oh, my God."

She declined to talk about Mr. Lee or describe her warnings, rushing away to call co-workers and let them know that the restaurant was closed.

Reached at the family's home in West Mifflin, Mr. Lee's father also said he wasn't ready to talk publicly about Brian, or what had happened to him.

"I have to bury my son first," he said quietly, his face full of grief, as he stood in the freshly clipped front lawn of his neat brick home while other family members watched stonily from the front porch.

For patrons of The Waterfront, Brian Lee's killing is an uncomfortable reminder of other murders at the popular shopping, dining and entertainment complex built on the site of the former Homestead Steel Works along the Monongahela River. The complex is patrolled by officers from the three municipalities in which it is located -- Munhall, Homestead and West Homestead -- and by some private security guards employed by the development's management company, Developers Diversified Realty Corp.

On June 28, Freedom Bey of Larimer allegedly shot and killed Brendan Brooks as Mr. Brooks left Eat'n Park restaurant on West Waterfront Drive, just east of Damon's. Mr. Bey has been ordered to stand trial.

Across the street from both restaurants is Loews at The Waterfront theater, where Larue Graves of Aliquippa shot and killed Shelton Flowers of Wilkinsburg in November 2005. Mr. Graves was sentenced to life in prison in 2006.

Several regular Damon's patrons said they plan to continue visiting The Waterfront, but some worried that the shootings at Damon's and Eat'n Park might signal a turn for the worse.

"I don't feel unsafe now, but if this continues, I will start to feel unsafe," said Louann Gordon, a Homestead native who now lives in Swissvale but returns to Homestead several times a week to shop, eat and attend church. "I'm not sure three small community police forces can handle it."

Mary Ann Grubb of Munhall said she was careful about visiting The Waterfront to shop or eat, even before yesterday's shooting. She always comes with her husband, she said, and even together, "we don't come down here at night, period."

But most people will forget quickly about the shootings, predicted Neal Kling of the South Side, who had taken the bus with a friend to see "Kung Fu Panda" at the theater. That's what happened after the 2005 shooting in the theater's lobby, he said.

"Everybody was afraid for a while, and then everybody started coming back," he said.

But without greater security -- maybe another four or five patrol cars, especially in the evenings -- such incidents could continue, potentially driving away customers and damaging the businesses, said Larry Geisler of Whitaker.

"They may take in a buck or two here or there by robbing somebody, but they mess it up for everybody in their family," he said. "It just puts more people out of work, all over again."

In spite of the murders, Mr. Dindak said he believes The Waterfront "without a doubt" is safe, even at night and even for people shopping alone.

"I would say there is no problem at night down there by yourself," he said. "These things happen, and they usually happen at businesses."

If officers aren't on another call, he said, they often will come down to escort employees to their cars and wait there until they have driven away. They have done so many times at Damon's, he said, "but you can't always be there."

Although he thinks The Waterfront is safe for patrons, Mr. Dindak said he is trying to set up a meeting for Wednesday to discuss possible additional security measures with the Munhall, Homestead and West Homestead police chiefs, as well as the other boroughs' mayors. He also expects a representative from Developers Diversified to attend.

When the complex opened, Mr. Dindak said, he hired an additional six police officers and agreed to dedicate one cruiser to help patrol it, along with those sent by Munhall and Homestead.

He can't ask his taxpayers to pay for more, he said. If additional patrols are needed to ensure safety at The Waterfront, the management company will have to pay for them, he said.

"We need The Waterfront and The Waterfront needs us, but they've got to help us out somehow," he said.