For a split second, a woman sitting at a busy Ohio restaurant was staring down the barrel of a loaded handgun.
Her ex-husband had walked straight toward her table, raised the weapon and tried to pull the trigger. Then something extraordinary happened.
The gun’s safety was still on.
And before the man could try again, a waiter and several customers rushed him, tackled him to the ground and wrestled the weapon away.
The dramatic surveillance footage captured the chaotic confrontation inside Sabira, an Italian restaurant in downtown Toledo, on April 11, 2025.
The man, Matthew Exton, 43, a former attorney, was convicted of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and multiple firearm specifications after prosecutors said he deliberately targeted his ex-wife.
A Lucas County jury acquitted him of a third felonious assault charge, according to WTOL.
Prosecutors said Exton had been drinking at a neighboring bar when he spotted his ex-wife and her family at Sabira, which was celebrating its opening night.
He walked into the restaurant and ordered a drink to be delivered to her table.
Then he spat toward the group as he left.
But he wasn’t finished.
Exton returned carrying a handgun and headed straight toward his ex-wife’s table, according to prosecutors.
He raised the gun and tried to fire.
It didn’t go off. The safety was still engaged.
That split-second failure gave the people around him a chance to act.
A waiter and several patrons immediately charged at Exton, knocking him to the ground and pinning him down before he could attempt another shot.
According to prosecutors, the handgun had one round loaded in the chamber and seven additional rounds in the magazine.
Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said the restaurant staff could never have anticipated what was about to happen.
“Nothing in their training and soft openings at restaurants could have prepared the staff for what walked through the door,” Bates said.
She argued that Exton had not entered the restaurant looking for a meal, but with the intention of killing his ex-wife in public.
Exton told the jury a different story.
He testified that he never intended to pull the trigger and claimed he was trying to pressure his ex-wife to move faster on the sale of their former home, according to *The Toledo Blade*.
His behavior in court also became an issue.
Exton was removed during closing arguments after repeatedly interrupting prosecutors, the newspaper reported. He watched the jury’s verdict from a holding area.
The case has also cost Exton his legal career.
The Ohio Supreme Court suspended his law license in May 2025 following the incident.
Exton now faces up to 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 21.
Watch the clip below:
🚨 FORMER #OHIO ATTORNEY TRIED TO SHOOT HIS EX-WIFE
Matthew Exton (43) pulled a gun on his ex-wife at a Toledo restaurant — but the safety was still on
A waiter tackled him before he could try again
Exton was convicted of attempted murder & felonious assault#Toledorestaurant pic.twitter.com/AmOASpNn9t
— GlobeUpdate (@Globupdate) September 9, 2026
