Shooting at Houston restaurant could spark gun control debate

Austin, Texas – CCTV footage shows Eric Eugene Washington, 30, robbing customers with what appears to be a handgun. Video from a Houston restaurant last week also shows a customer in a booth pulling out a gun and shooting at Washington.

According to Emily Taylor, a 2nd amendment attorney, this fatal incident is an example of a constitutional rescheduling.

“Therefore, the presence of these citizens is for your protection, and not just for their protection. You want to have as many of them as possible. And the constitutional wear has done us a huge favor,” Taylor said.

Taylor is also a legislative adviser to Gun Owners of America-Texas. She is closely following the Houston case, which is not as straightforward as it seems.

“What we have is that although we found out later that the robber used a toy gun, you don’t know that at the moment. And Texas law doesn’t say you have to know it, you can defend yourself against the information you’ve received from your eyes. Not accurate information. So you think you and others are being threatened with lethal weapons,” Taylor said.

Houston Police in a social media post said homicide detectives had questioned a 46-year-old restaurant patron. He has not been identified as he has not yet been charged with a crime. But the shooting will be considered by a grand jury.

“He’s not the monster people make him out to be,” said Corinne Goodman, Washington’s mother.

In an interview with FOX26, Goodman noted that more than one shot killed her son. With the first shot, Washington fell to the ground, and the client fired several shots as he approached, including what appeared to be a final shot to the head.

“I want to know why didn’t you stop? You mocked him. He was already dead and it hurt. It hurts,” Goodman said.

The doubt in the self-defense statement doesn’t surprise Taylor, but she told FOX 7 Austin it might not be a fair question given the threatening situation everyone is in.

“It is possible that the grand jury will consider that the last shot was too big. He was no longer a threat. And so self-defense is not considered. It’s reasonable to get stressed and adrenaline and all that’s happened. It’s also possible that the grand jury will split the kid and say, well, he really shouldn’t have fired, but we’re going to charge him with a minor crime, in Texas we call desecration of a corpse. We think that maybe he was already dead and that last shot was wrong. We’re going to charge you with a crime, not murder,” Taylor said.

Juan L. Guerra Jr., the Houston attorney for the man who shot Washington, issued a statement to the media. Guerra said his client feared for his life and the lives of those in the restaurant. He also stated; “This event was very traumatic. Taking human life is something he doesn’t take lightly and it will burden him for the rest of his life.”

Taylor is closely watching how the Houston case will impact the gun control debate that is expected during the new Texas legislative session.

“I think we’re going to have a tough gun fight because all the arguments on the other side will come from, of course you know where you were just on the heels of that horrible, tragic Uvalde School Shooting. And I don’t think the gun argument will have much impact in this meeting. I think we will all be on the defensive. Not why weapons are good, but why weapons are necessarily bad when not in the hands of bad people,” Taylor said.

About two dozen gun control bills have been filed in the current Texas legislative session. These include a bill to increase the age for purchasing semi-automatic assault rifles, as well as new regulations on ammunition and gun accessories. For gun owners who are worried about possible changes, Taylor has this advice.

“Don’t dwell on the gun laws that are already in the books and all the hundreds of anti-gun proposals that this legislative session doesn’t care about… a lot of people are too intimidated. They believe they are not going to be able to follow the law, and they are too scared to try. You cannot understand what the law is. There are many great resources out there to help you learn the laws of Texas so you can keep yourself and others safe.‘ Taylor said.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has indicated that some of the gun bills filed so far will at least be considered. He also told reporters this week that he believes there are not enough votes to pass a major gun control bill.