Customer Shot Dead Robber who Attacked Restaurant with Fake Gun

Editor/

A customer fatally shot a robber in the head after he held up a Texas restaurant with a fake gun – and police are now searching for the vigilante who helped get the stolen money back to the patrons.

The robber, believed to be in his 20s, entered Ranchito #4 Taqueria in southwest Houston on Thursday night wearing a black ski mask and gloves before ambushing 10 customers and demanding their money at gunpoint.

Footage shows the shouting man wave what is believed to be a pistol around the restaurant, while customers drop to the ground and hand over their belongings.

But as the man headed towards the door, one of the patrons – described by police as either white or Hispanic – produced his own gun and shot the robber.

He fired nine times – one of which was in the head – causing him to collapse to the ground. The customer, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans, then collected the stolen money and cellphones and started handing it back to the people they were taken from.

He then fled the scene in a dusty pickup truck at around 11.30pm on January 5, along with the other customers in the taqueria on South Gessner Road.  

Investigators say that they want to track down the pictured man for his role in the shooting – and that no charges have been filed yet.