BY ELENI HIMARAS
reporter@ltview.com
The Travis County Sheriff’s office is still searching for a man who allegedly walked into The Steiner Ranch Steakhouse Monday afternoon and fatally shot an assistant manager.

 The suspect, Brian Carl Beck, 27, was a busser at the restaurant until he had an altercation with the victim, assistant manager Christopher Martin, 30, last Saturday and walked off his job. According to witnesses, he calmly walked into the restaurant and allegedly shot Martin several times at close range. The restaurant was not open for time but the wait staff had arrived to set up.
According to authorities, one witness said she took cover under a table. As Beck walked out, he leaned down to her and said: “Don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you,” she told police. Witnesses said he then calmly walked out of the restaurant.
Martin died of his injuries shortly after 4 p.m. and police recovered Beck’s white Chevy Blazer from the 12000 block of Bullick Hollow Road within the hour. A witness told police he saw a man walking into the woods. Police were searching the area bordered by Oasis Bluff Road, Bullick Hollow Road, Comanche Trail and RR 620 North, but now believe he is either deceased or has left the area, Wade said in a press release Thursday afternoon.
“All we have to go on right now is eyewitness reporters,” Travis County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Roger Wade said. “We believe he’s armed and he’s dangerous. We’re taking every precaution.”
Beck has a military background that may have been aiding his navigation through the dense terrain and hilly topography of the search area.
“We’re not sure how intimately he knows this area. It’s not only heavily wooded, there is also a deep ravine,” Wade said.
As of Tuesday, police had 15 deputies continuing to search the forested area and said they would be asking for additional help from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
According to Beck’s myspace.com page, which he last logged into the day of the shooting, he is from Paloma, Calif. While it said he is a student, he does not list a college.
He lists his favorite book and movie as “Into the Wild” and calls Christopher McCandless his hero. McCandless, as detailed in the true-life book, gave up all of his possessions and money and trekked into the wilderness. McCandless renamed himself “Alexander Supertramp” and was found dead years later in an abandoned bus in Alaska. McCandless had managed to survive in the Alaskan wilderness for 112 days and on the road for two years prior to arriving in Alaska.
Most of the pictures on the Web site are of exotic locations like Thailand, Japan and Hawaii. There is also a picture of Beck refueling a Navy helicopter.
Beck had only worked at the restaurant for two weeks before walking of the job. The steakhouse had only been open since around Thanksgiving and Wade did not know how long the victim had been employed there.
“We are shocked and saddened by the tragic events that occurred today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim, his family and all of our employees. We have been in contact with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and we are cooperating fully with their investigation,” Cosmo Palmieri, co-owner of the restaurant, said in an issued statement.
Police are not saying what kind of gun was used in the attack, what the altercation concerned, or whether any of the other employees said they had ever had a conflict with the suspect or the victim.
They do not know what supplies Beck had with him when he walked into the woods. He is 5′11, 170 lbs. He has brown hair and police say he was last seen wearing blue jeans and a green jacket.