Man dies ‘hero’ while protecting Bay Area waitress

Vallejo’s 24th homicide of the year left behind an “absolute hero” in its wake.

That was how Scotty’s Restaurant waitress Teresa Brasher described longtime patron Bob Sundin, who lost his life to a shooting Thursday morning.

Brasher was pulling up in her car to open the restaurant at approximately 5:30 in the morning, when she noticed Sundin pulling up in his truck behind her near 1645 Tennessee St. Moments later, Brasher got out of her car, noticing a morning “filled with more fog than usual.”

“I pulled in to work, Bob pulls in behind me with his truck and I started to get out of my car. I always look around me and I had my purse and my keys ready to open the door,” Brasher said. “Suddenly a saw a young Black man, probably in his early 30s, came up near me on an electric scooter. He had a ski mask on but I could see the white in his eyes. He pointed at my purse and that he wanted it and immediately I jumped back into my car, shut the door and locked it. The man was around my car trying to get me to come out.”

That’s when Brasher saw Sundin get out of his truck.

“I saw Bob get out of his car and I was telling myself, ‘No, no, no, no, don’t get out! Please, don’t get out,” Brasher said. “Bob is not aggressive or mean — he’s a real sweetheart. But he was just defending me. The man grabbed Bob’s shirt and then it looked like Bob grabbed his shirt. Then I heard a gunshot.

“I freaked out and drove off near Shasta Street and called the police,” Brasher continued. “I was hysterical at that point. The police then told me they were down in front of the restaurant and that I should come back. When I came back and saw Bob laying on the ground with a bullet in his head. I immediately freaked out. This was such a stupid and senseless crime.”

According to a Friday news release from the Vallejo Police Department, officers responded to a report of a shooting occurring in the 1600 block of Tennessee St. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male victim (Sundin) suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced deceased at this time by medical personnel.

The motive and circumstances involving the shooting are under investigation. Anyone with information on this case has been asked to contact Detective Phillips (707) 648-4514 or Detective McDonough (707) 648-5425.

Brasher has been working at Scotty’s for 22 years. Although she’s often thought about taking other jobs, her relationships with the customers kept her there.

Customers like Sundin.

“Oh, he talked about everything and every time he came in he’d ask, ‘How old are you? and ‘Is it Howdy Doody time?’” Brasher said. “He was a veteran that lived in Napa with his wife and he was just an awesome person. He belonged to some church in Napa and recently he was talking about the Toys For Tots Drive he was part of.

“There is just something about some of the customers that come in every day,” Brasher said, fighting back tears. “When they come in, I know that I’m going to start their day off with a laugh. It might be a corny joke, but I’m going to make them smile. So this is tough. Bob was just a great person and he saved my life. He’s an absolute hero.”