Houston man who shot, killed robber armed with air-powered pellet gun sought for questioning by police

Houston police are searching for a man who fatally shot a masked robber Thursday night who entered a Mexican restaurant brandishing what appeared to be a handgun and allegedly demanded the customers hand over their money.

On Thursday, ABC13 reported that an unidentified black male suspect walked into the El Ranchito #4 restaurant around 11:30 pm where 10 customers were eating, and began to circle the store while waving a weapon and shoving what appeared to be stolen cash in his pockets. An unidentified customer shot and killed the suspect, according to police, and then returned the money back to the customers.



Surveillance footage shows that while making his way back towards the front door while still pointing the gun, the masked man was shot in the back by a seated restaurant patron who appeared to have been concealed carrying a pistol. The robbery suspect died at the scene.

According to Houston Police Department (HPD) Lt. R. Willkens, the deceased suspect had what he described as a plastic pistol such as an air-soft or a BB gun.

After the robber was shot, the customers simply left the restaurant to the employees. HPD is searching for the man who potentially saved the lives of all of the other innocent taco-eating guests.

"Houston Police are seeking a robbery victim who shot dead a masked male who used a realistic-looking fake handgun to rob people at the Ranchito Taqueria on Jan. 5," reported The Post Millennial's Andy Ngo. "Because the robber was black, some leftist activists say this was an unjustified shooting."

According to HPD, the man is only "wanted for questioning" and "is not charged at this time."

"He's a hero. And you spelled 'self defense' wrong. 'At this time.' Disgraceful," wrote one tweeter in reply to the police department.

"Buy that man a beer," said another Twitter user.