An armed robber at a Houston restaurant was shot and killed by a customer as he demanded other customers return their money, authorities said.
The shooting unfolded inside Ranchito Taqueria around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, when a masked suspect walked in the front door, pointed a gun at customers and demanded their money and wallets, the department of Houston Police Security.
Disturbing footage of the accident clock terrified customers hiding under tables while the robber, dressed all in black, went around and grabbed their belongings, which some had thrown on the floor.
As the robber heads for the door to leave, a customer sitting in a booth suddenly gets up and opens fire on the suspect with a handgun, video shows.
The customer can then be seen being shot four times in the back before the thief collapses to the ground.
While he’s down, the customer walks up and proceeds to shoot him four more times.
Then, while standing directly above the thief, the customer once again shoots him point-blank, as seen in the video.
The customer then recovered the suspect’s stolen money and returned it to other customers before he and other customers fled the restaurant, police say.
The robbery suspect, identified only as a man believed to be in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, police said.
Now investigators said they “want to speak to the man about his role in the shooting” and are asking the public for help in identifying the killer. No charges have been brought against him.
“One of the reasons law enforcement is looking for this individual is to find out if he feared for his life or that of those around him, because this is absolutely essential to a self-defense claim under the law,” KHOU said . . Legal analyst Carmen Roe.
Roe said it appeared to be self-defense, and even though the suspect’s gun was fake, the restaurant patrons “clearly thought it was a real gun.”
“If you are justified in firing the first bullet, you are justified in continuing to fire until the deadly threat is gone,” he said.
Roe said he would advise the man to stay at the scene and answer police questions, “but at the same time, you don’t have an obligation to stay at the scene of a situation like this—the.”
Surveillance footage obtained by police shows the shooter entering his vehicle, described as a 1970s-80s model van with no bed, before driving off.
