Seemingly on the side of criminals, ABC’s Good Morning America was appalled on Monday after they learned that an armed good Samaritan in Houston, Texas shot and killed an armed robber who was holding up an entire restaurant. They portrayed the hero as ducking police and the source of the fear in the restaurant that night. All of this was part of their anti-gun narrative that bars even defensive uses of firearms.
“Now to the shooting caught on camera inside a Texas restaurant. Police are searching for a man who they say opened fire, killing a robbery suspect holding customers at gunpoint,” GMA anchor Michael Strahan announced.
The correspondent to deliver the report was John Quiñones, who’s infamous for setting up hoax racist encounters to push the false narrative that America is an inherently racist country.
Quiñones began the video portion of the report by suggesting the man who killed the robber was on the run. “This morning, authorities want to talk to this man who allegedly shot and killed a mass robbery suspect inside a Houston taqueria,” he reported. He then framed the shooting as a “terrifying scene all caught on security camera footage…”
To further stack the deck against the armed hero, Quiñones played audio from the dispatch call noting the robber was “not awake and they're not breathing.” And even though the weapon was being used to force patrons to hand over their items, he added that “Police say the weapon the suspect was carrying turned out to be a plastic airsoft or a bb gun.”
That tidbit was delivered with a tone suggesting the good Samaritan somehow should have known this. But earlier in the report, Quiñones said the robber “pointed what appeared to be a gun at customers as he took their wallets and cell phones.”
“Investigators have not identified the deceased suspect believed to be in his 20s or the man accused of killing him, calling him a person of interest,” he noted, seemingly lamenting the loss of a young life. And he spoke with criminal defense attorney Toby Shooks who said the hero “could be charged with murder,” before adding he might “be justified” because “in Texas, a person can use deadly force.”
But while they spent the report framing the armed Samaritan as problematic and on the run, Quiñones returned to live shot admitting: “His lawyer has said his client is ready to talk to the authorities about exactly what happened that night in that restaurant.”
Quiñones returned to live shot and seemed bewildered that “no charges have been filed in this case. And while they spent the report framing the armed Samaritan as problematic and on the run, he was forced to admit: “His lawyer has said his client is ready to talk to the authorities about exactly what happened that night in that restaurant.”
This report was later followed with an over five-minute-long (5:11) segment featuring the gun control efforts of former Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ). Anchor and interviewer Robin Roberts was even adorned in the orange regalia of the anti-gun rights crowd.
This anti-self-defense nonsense was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Google and Febreze. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
January 9, 2023
7:11:54 a.m. EasternMICHAEL STRAHAN: Now to the shooting caught on camera inside a Texas restaurant. Police are searching for a man who they say opened fire, killing a robbery suspect holding customers at gunpoint.
John Quinones is in Houston with the latest. Good morning, John.
JOHN QUINONES: Good morning, Michael.
It was a frightening ordeal, a man dressed all in black storms all into a restaurant here in Houston and allegedly starts robbing diners, going table to table. That’s when police say, suddenly another patron pulls out his own gun and shoots the man dead. And it's all captured on security cameras.
[Cuts to video]
This morning, authorities want to talk to this man who allegedly shot and killed a mass robbery suspect inside a Houston tacoria. The terrifying scene all caught on security camera footage obtained by our station KTRK.
PEDRO LOPEZ (restaurant owner, via on-screen translation): Everyone was scared, nervous, I was too.
QUINONES: It happened on Thursday around midnight. Police say the suspect, seen here dressed in black, walked into a restaurant and pointed what appeared to be a gun at customers as he took their wallets and cell phones.
LT. R. WILLK (Houston Police Department): As he was exiting the store one of the patrons got up out of their seat and immediately discharged a pistol into the suspect.
QUINONES: Police say the customer shooting him multiple times and then returning the stolen belongings.
DISPATCH: They're not awake and they're not breathing.
LOPEZ (via on-screen translation): The customer was seated here and the robber was there with his firearm.
QUINONES: Police say the weapon the suspect was carrying turned out to be a plastic airsoft, or a bb gun.
Investigators have not identified the deceased suspect believed to be in his 20’s or the man accused of killing him, calling him a person of interest.
TOBY SHOOKS (Texas criminal defense attorney): He could be charged with murder but in this case I believe he's going to be justified. In Texas, a person can use deadly force.
[Cuts back to live]
QUINONES: From that patron accused of shooting [under his breath and trails off] –
You know, so far, no charges have been filed in this case but Houston police may soon hear from the man accused of shooting the alleged robber. His lawyer has said his client is ready to talk to the authorities about exactly what happened that night in that restaurant. George.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: What a scene. Okay, John, thanks very much.
