HOUSTON — A suspected robber is dead after police said he was shot and killed by a bystander who caught him in the act.
The suspected robber reportedly pistol-whipped a man who was pumping gas at a gas station on Ella Boulevard at Greens Parkway before demanding his wallet. That's when the bystander stepped in.
"Is in another car parked in front of the store. He sees the robbery. He gets out of his car with a pistol. He shoots once maybe twice at the suspect that’s running away, and the suspect goes down," said Houston Police Department Lt. R. Willkens.
Surveillance video captured the incident, which lasted roughly ten seconds. After the shooting, the bystander is seen going over to the robbery victim before getting back in his car and taking off.
The bystander later called and met up with detectives to give them a statement. Detectives called the Harris County District Attorney's Office which determined this investigation would be presented to a grand jury.
KHOU 11 legal analyst Carmen Roe doubts the bystander will be charged but said there's always a chance.
“And looking at this video, anybody would think that this shooting was justified under the circumstance," said Roe.
She said the location is important because it appears the robbery suspect was shot in the back but says the bystander could have believed the threat was still real, considering police said the suspected robber first pistol-whipped the man pumping gas.
"It’s an interesting case because it’s very similar to the taqueria shooting, we had about a year ago."
We reported about that taqueria shooting. An armed, masked man entered the restaurant and demanded money and wallets from customers. A customer who shot the masked man was never criminally charged.
His case went before a grand jury which ultimately cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Watch the update police gave at the scene on the gas station shooting: