HOUSTON – Community activists and civil rights organizations are speaking out after a customer shot and killed a suspect at a taco shop last week.
“When he shot him the first time, he was well within the law. But, when he turned right back around and directly [and] shot him again, now you have made yourself an actual criminal,” Dr. Candice Matthews said.
The shooting was caught on camera and made national headlines.
The defense attorney for the customer says he feared for his life and acted in self-defense, but community leaders say he used excessive deadly force.
Activist Quanell X and Matthews, who is with the Rainbow Push Coalition, says they don’t condone the actions and behavior of the suspect who robbed the restaurant with customers inside but said the patron who shot the man went from law-abiding to breaking the law.
Surveillance video from the Ranchito Taqueria #4 on South Gessner Road shows the suspect, 30-year-old Eric Eugen Washington, running into the restaurant, pointing a fake gun, and demanding money from customers.
As Washington leaves the store, a patron shoots him several times. He continues to fire more shots and even throws a beverage on Washington before he leaves the scene.
Quanell X says once the man shot Washington the first time, he was no longer a threat, and his actions went way too far.
“He has a right to defend himself. He had a right to protect himself. He had a right to use deadly force, but he went beyond that, and he stood over that young man and pumped bullet after bullet into him. That’s overkill. That’s no longer self-defense,” Quanell said. “So, I believe the Harris County District Attorneys should make sure that a grand jury returns a criminal indictment.”
Washington was convicted of aggravated robbery in 2015 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He got parole in 2021 before last month being charged with aggravated assault of a family member.
Records show he was out on bond during the Taqueria robbery and it’s all information the grand jury will look at. Quanell X says the defense attorney will have to prove he was a continuous threat.
“You did not know his criminal history before you shot him. You did not know his name before you shot him. You did not know who he was before you killed him or his past before you killed him. You didn’t have a chance to look up his criminal history and decide to use deadly force so that doesn’t work,” he said.
Quanell X says Washington’s family is struggling. They are angry about the level of force that was used.
It’s unclear how soon a grand jury could hear the case.
Taco shop burglarized 5 days after another suspect was shot to death by customer, police say