No bail for alleged Lynn restaurant shooter

LYNN – The New Hampshire man who allegedly burst into a Chinese restaurant Dec. 5 in a rage and opened fire with an AK-47 on unsuspecting customers was ordered held without bail by Judge Dunbar Livingston at a dangerousness hearing Tuesday.Anthony J. Gobbi, 30, of East Wakefield, N.H., formerly of Lynn, was also detained pending a probation violation and was ordered to post $500 bail for two counts of receiving stolen property, guns, during the hearing at Lynn District Court.He has a probable cause hearing scheduled for Jan. 14 at 8:30 a.m.Gobbi’s court-appointed attorney, David Grimaldi, requested a mental health evaluation for his client, which was granted by Livingston and will be paid for by the state.A relative of Gobbi’s, who declined to give her name, said the situation was a shame and that she has been getting letters and cards in support of her relative who “has been through a lot,” referencing family problems and hardships.In the early morning hours of Dec. 5, Gobbi, a former resident of Euclid Avenue, went to the restaurant at 8 Market St., allegedly heavily intoxicated and asked for a beer. When the bartender denied him, Gobbi left in huff, yelling that he was denied service because he was white.According to police reports a few minutes later, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Gobbi returned to the eatery in a rage, armed with an AK-47 and a Glock handgun from a Cadillac Escalade and began firing wildly at customers and employees.While some customers ducked for cover, one man from Reading was able to wrestle the high-powered firearms away from Gobbi, as he continued to fire outside.Gobbi later admitted to taking the guns and the Escalade from family members in New Hampshire and said he did not target any particular person at the restaurant.Police charged Gobbi with 15 counts of armed assault to murder, one count for each person in the restaurant, along with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, unlicensed possession of ammunition, two counts of carrying a loaded high-capacity firearm and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm.In a police interview Gobbi said he had hoped he would have been shot by police for his actions and, “If I didn’t truly believe that you go straight to hell if you kill yourself, I would have killed myself a long time ago.”