BUFFALO, N.Y. – A prosecutor said the evidence didn’t back up murder charges against a parolee who had been accused of opening fire outside a downtown restaurant, killing four people, and had the counts dismissed Sunday.

Keith Johnson, 25, of Buffalo was still being held in jail on a parole violation. He could be rearrested if authorities change their minds, but Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III cited photo evidence and witness statements in seeking dismissal.

“I’m not going to prosecute someone for a quadruple homicide unless I’m sure he did it,” Sedita told City Court Judge Patrick Carney, “and I’m not sure he did it.”

Investigators removed several security cameras from the around the restaurant Saturday and viewed the images into the evening. Sedita said authorities have clear video of the shooting.

“We can see the race, gender, height, build, the clothing of the perpetrator. You can see many of the perpetrator’s actions. We have him shooting on video,” Sedita said outside the courtroom.

The City Grill’s managers, reacting to an altercation, had decided to close the restaurant early Saturday and told patrons to leave. The victims were exiting around 2:30 a.m. when a man began shooting, police said. Four people — including a Texas man who was celebrating his first wedding anniversary in his hometown — were killed and four others wounded.

Later in the day, a Buffalo Police SWAT team arrested Johnson and charged him four counts of second-degree murder.

Even after the charges were dropped Sunday, police Commissioner Daniel Derenda stood by Johnson’s arrest.

People who had been at the party identified Johnson by name, one witness picked him out of a photo lineup, Johnson gave inconsistent statements and a search of his home yielded clothing with blood on it, Derenda said. The blood hasn’t yet been tested, police said.

“We acted on what we had. If we had the same information today and were given the same scenario, we would have had the same result,” Derenda said. “We acted quickly to rectify a situation where we were wrong, and we turned it around as quickly as possible.”

Johnson, who was freed on parole in July after serving two years for assault, was assigned an attorney after the charges were dismissed. Investigators said he could be a witness in the case.

Sedita said he believed Johnson was being held in jail because being at a bar violated the conditions of his release. A parole official could not be reached by phone Sunday to confirm that.