BCI releases surveillance video from Brooklyn Cracker Barrel shooting that left family dead

CLEVELAND - Video released this week shows the Allen family’s final moments inside the Cracker Barrel on Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn.

On April 12, Kate Allen and her two daughters met her estranged husband at the restaurant for a birthday dinner. That night, Kevin Allen, 51, shot and killed his wife and daughter, Kerri. Kayla Allen, 10, died of her injuries a month later.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation redacted much of the surveillance video from inside the Cracker Barrel. One clip shows the entire family entering the restaurant with Kerri Allen wearing a hat for her 10th birthday, and Kayla with glasses on and a lanyard around her neck. Kevin Allen is wearing a sling and a dark jacket.

“Kate had hoped that the location would help avoid any conflicts with Kevin,” BCI reports said.

After dinner, Kevin Allen paid and went outside. That’s when Kate, holding two phones, called 911. She had already spotted the shotgun shells in her husband’s pocket.

“Kevin had told them that they were going to home with him and he was going to kill them at the house,” a friend told investigators.

Another clip from the restaurant’s entryway shows the family running inside and Kevin carrying a shotgun. Officers actually arrived at the scene three minutes before Kevin Allen went back inside, but helped bystanders flee, the Brooklyn police chief said.

In a span of less than five minutes, Kevin Allen shot his wife three times , in the chest, groin and head, before chasing his two daughters through the store. While BCI did provide NewsChannel5 with video of Kevin Allen standing over his bleeding wife, we have decided not to post that on our website.

“A witness statement indicated that Kevin was on a knee putting the shotgun underneath the door and shooting,” BCI reports said.

In the third clip in the video player, Kevin Allen exits Cracker Barrel, where he is shot by Brookyln police officers. He grabs his stomach before falling to the floor just outside a set of doors. Moments later, officers, with guns drawn, go into the restaurant.

Police said he refused to put down the shotgun. Kevin Allen was pronounced dead at the scene.

A report from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in September determined the officers followed protocol and their actions were appropriate.