Houston store owner shoots robbery suspect who posed as police, video shows

Friday, June 27, 2025
Store owner shoots robbery suspect who posed as police, video shows
Video shows a southwest Houston business owner and his wife pulling guns on a robbery suspect they say identified himself as a police officer.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Video shows a southwest Houston business owner and his wife pulling guns on a robbery suspect they say identified himself as a police officer.

Police confirm they're investigating the armed confrontation captured on surveillance video on June 15 outside the La Sultana liquor store at Gessner and Harwin, which ended with the suspect being shot.

In the video, you can see store owner Javier Reyes walking outside to dispose of some trash when a red car pulls up.

A masked man holding a gun and a flashlight quickly runs up to Reyes, who notes the man was wearing a vest with the word 'marshal' on it.

"They told me, 'I'm a cop. I'm the police. Get on the floor,' and I say, 'I don't do anything,'" Reyes said.

Although only one suspect is visible in the video, Reyes said there was another person driving the car when the suspect arrived.

After the man forced Reyes to the ground, Reyes said he revealed his true intentions.

"When he got me on the floor, he told me, 'It's a robbery, it's a robbery. I'm not the police,'" Reyes recounted.

Reyes said his wife was watching everything from inside the store. You can see her retrieving a gun before she walks outside and points it at the armed suspect.

The suspect starts to run away, losing his shoes and gun in the process.

Reyes seizes the opportunity to draw his own weapon and fires multiple rounds, at least one of which hits the suspect, who then crawls to his getaway car.

Reyes fires a final parting shot as the car pulls away.

"The police told me I did a great job," he said.

While both Reyes and his wife weren't harmed, he shudders to think how differently things could have turned out.

When Reyes initially refused the suspect's demand for his valuables, he said the suspect threatened to kill him.

"I say, 'No,' and he put the gun in my head and they told me, 'I can kill you right now.'"

Police said the injured suspect showed up at a hospital, but that charges have yet to be filed.

They said the investigation is ongoing.

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