Houston robbery suspect shot to death by customer in taqueria
Customers were eating at a Ranchito Taqueria in Houston on Thursday when the suspect came in wearing a black ski mask and gloves and demanded money from the patrons. He was later shot to death by an armed customer. Source: Ranchito Taqueria
A man who was seen on surveillance video last week shooting and killing an armed suspect attempting to rob a Houston taqueria was questioned by police Monday.
Houston police detectives questioned the 46-year-old man and, after consultation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, it was determined the shooting will be referred to a grand jury, police said.
The man’s identity has not been released because he has not been arrested or charged, police said. The grand jury will decide the man’s charges once all the evidence is presented.
Police referred all further questions to the District Attorney Kim Ogg's office, which was unavailable for comment.
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Houston police officers were dispatched to the Ranchito #4 Taqueria in southwest Houston last Thursday after an armed customer shot and killed an armed robber who’d entered the establishment and demanded valuables from customers at gunpoint.
The video and witness reports show the suspect – later identified as 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington – wearing a black ski mask entering the restaurant and pointing his pistol at patrons and demanding their money.
Houston police released a picture of the armed customers truck described as a "1970s or ’80s model pickup truck with no bed." (Houston Police Department)
The District Attorney's Office confirmed reports that the suspect's firearm was actually a toy gun.
HPD Lt. Wilkens told KHOU 11 that the robbery suspect "had a plastic pistol, possibly an aero soft or possibly a little BB pistol."
Online records show Washington had a long rap sheet, including charges of assault and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
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As the suspect was gathering money from patrons, the armed customer can be seen standing up as the suspect walks by him and firing his gun at the suspect multiple times.
The armed customer, described by Houston police as a White or Hispanic male, fired at least nine shots at the suspect who dropped to the ground and died. The armed customer fired multiple shots, including one at the suspect's head, after the suspect had dropped to the ground.
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The armed customer collected the stolen money from the body of the suspect and returned it to patrons before fleeing the scene.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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