Video: Man lurks in ladies' restroom at Belltown restaurant

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SEATTLE – Belltown restaurants and Seattle Police are on alert after a disturbing incident at El Gaucho – one of Seattle's finest steakhouses.

A woman, whose identity we are protecting, was having a terrific family celebration dinner at El Gaucho. But when she went to the restroom, there was a man hiding inside, waiting in a stall.

"He wanted someone to walk into that stall," she said. "He was not just the normal peeping tom… Everything in me froze and I said this is not happening, he was so deadly silent."

She said the suspect was brazen and bold, and looking for more than a sick peek.

"He could have a knife, he could have had a gun," she said, shaken by her frightening and dangerous encounter.

El Gaucho says staffers tried to chase down the intruder, but he slipped away somewhere in Belltown.

The restaurant management issued the following statement:

"Over the 12 years we've been in Belltown, we've never had anything like this occur. We take our employees' and guests' safety very seriously, so we're on alert and have contacted the police."

"I really want to get it out there for the women to be careful," the victim said. "He's still out there."