{"id":65,"date":"2023-01-17T00:04:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T00:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/?p=65"},"modified":"2023-01-19T19:09:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T19:09:04","slug":"hero-shoots-armed-robber-in-restaurant-returns-victims-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/hero-shoots-armed-robber-in-restaurant-returns-victims-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Hero Shoots Armed Robber In Restaurant, Returns Victims\u2019 Money"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After fatally shooting an armed robber, a ghostly hero returned all the victims\u2019 belongings before mysteriously vanishing. Police have since announced what will happen to the vigilante phantom.<\/p>\n<p>Houston police finally solved a mystery involving a terrifying armed robbery and the citizen who stopped it. The incident occurred at Ranchero Taqueria on South Gressner near Bellaire Boulevard just before midnight on a Thursday evening. Security footage captured a masked man, identified as 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington, walking into the restaurant and confronting several customers, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/policetribune.com\/video-customer-shoots-armed-robber-inside-taqueria-returns-money-to-victims-and-leaves\/\">The Police Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWitnesses told officers the suspect entered the restaurant and pointed a pistol at patrons as he demanded their money,\u201d the HPD said.<\/p>\n<p>When Washington drew his gun, customers raised their hands or hid under tables in fear of being shot. However, one patron sitting in a booth wasn\u2019t willing to give in so easily.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77527\" class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77527\" src=\"https:\/\/taphaps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ericwashingtonarmedrobbercustomertaqueria-640x411.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The mysterious hero fatally shot Eric Eugene Washington while he was distracted, collecting customers\u2019 money. (Photo Credit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/k4xNs0HwQ7c?t=39\">Screenshot<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As the suspect paced back and forth, demanding cash from the terrified victims, a 46-year-old customer, whose identity has been withheld, carried out a brilliant plan. Instead of handing the money to Washington, the customer tossed his wallet onto the floor, forcing the suspect to bend over and collect the goods. With Washington focused on the money, the customer pulled out his own weapon.<\/p>\n<p>Surveillance footage shows the customer pulling out a firearm and shooting Washington multiple times as he strolled past the table. Washington didn\u2019t even make it to the door before succumbing to his injuries. Police confirmed he died at the scene.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Customer shoots and kills armed robber in Houston taco shop\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k4xNs0HwQ7c?feature=oembed\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The unnamed customer immediately walked over to Washington, checking to see if he was still a threat. He then recovered the stolen goods and told everyone in the restaurant to \u201ccome, get your money.\u201d To his horror, he discovered that the gun the suspect used to rob terrified victims was a fake.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>The armed customer then \u201ccollected the stolen money from the suspect and returned the money to other patrons\u201d before he and the other victims left the premises, according to police.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The heroic customer didn\u2019t wait around for the police to arrive. After returning the stolen money, the man hopped into his old pickup truck and disappeared. Soon after the incident, the customer turned himself in to the Houston police for questioning and is fully cooperating with investigators.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cAfter consulting with the Harris County District Attorney\u2019s Office, it was determined the shooting will be referred to a grand jury,\u201d the HPD\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/policetribune.com\/customer-who-shot-armed-robber-in-houston-taqueria-will-face-grand-jury\/\">said<\/a>. \u201cSince the male is not arrested or charged, his identity is not being released.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77528\" class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77528\" src=\"https:\/\/taphaps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ericwashingtonarmedrobbertaqueriacustomer-640x411.jpg\" alt=\"Eric Eugene Washington\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The armed robber has been identified as 30-year-old Eric Eugene Washington, who has an extensive criminal record. (Photo Credit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/01\/10\/diner-who-shot-dead-taqueria-robber-to-face-grand-jury\/\">Houston Police<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A grand jury will decide the fate of the mysterious customer who took down an armed robber. Witnesses have taken the customer\u2019s side and believe he engaged in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/taphaps.com\/rakim-stephen-tate-florida-clerk-23a\/\">self-defense<\/a>\u00a0in fear for his life.<\/p>\n<p>Eric Eugene Washington has an extensive criminal record including a 15-year prison sentence in connection with the shooting death of 62-year-old Hamid Waraich, the owner of a cell phone store. However, Washington was only convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cEric was an evil criminal that took joy in harassing and robbing innocent families. The individual at the taqueria is a true hero!\u201d said Sean Waraich, the son of Hamid Waraich. \u201cHe did the right thing in stopping the robber and in protecting the community from a dangerous perpetrator.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77529\" class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77529\" src=\"https:\/\/taphaps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ericwashingtonrobberarmedcustomertaqueria-640x411.jpg\" alt=\"Eric Eugene Washington\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The hero eventually turned himself in to the police and will face a grand jury to decide if the shooting of Eric Eugene Washington was justified. (Photo Credit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/k4xNs0HwQ7c?t=21\">Screenshot<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Eric Eugene Washington lived a life of crime and reaped the consequences. His final mistake was taking a fake gun to a real gunfight.<\/p>\n<p>Far too often, criminals go free while law-abiding citizens are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/taphaps.com\/hamzeh-abushariah-masked-robbers-22a\/\">punished<\/a>\u00a0for protecting themselves and others. Hopefully, this won\u2019t be the case and the grand jury will see the shooting as an example of self-defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After fatally shooting an armed robber, a ghostly hero returned all the victims\u2019 belongings before mysteriously vanishing. Police have since announced what will happen to the vigilante phantom. Houston police finally solved a mystery involving a terrifying armed robbery and the citizen who stopped it. The incident occurred at Ranchero Taqueria on South Gressner near [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-65","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-daily-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/67"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsintime.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}