The fatal shooting of a suspected auto thief in Texas by the owner of the stolen vehicle—who tracked down his truck with an Apple AirTag tracking device—has ignited a heated discussion about the use of lethal force and alleged “vigilante justice” in San Antonio, Seattle and several foreign countries.
It’s all about Americans, guns, rights, lax law enforcement, lenient judges and a person’s right to protect their property, according to the hundreds of people responding to this story across the map.
Not surprisingly, there does not seem to be a calm middle ground. Instead, one side insists the suspected thief “got what he deserved,” while the other side condemns the actions of the truck’s owner.
The dead suspect was identified as Andrew John Herrerra, 44, according to KSAT News in that city. The incident occurred last Wednesday, and in reaction, hundreds of viewers have weighed in on both sides.
Remarkably, when the story was picked up and reported by KOMO News in far-off Seattle, that station’s Facebook page lit up as well. More than 265 comments were submitted within a few hours, a near match for the 263 comments posted at the KSAT website. When the story was reported by the Daily Mail, more than 835 comments were submitted, from all over the world. Responses came from Australia, Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand and Ghana, and elsewhere.
While reports by Texas media indicate the suspect may have been armed, there was no mention of that in the story by the time it was reported in Seattle.
After the truck’s owner tracked down his stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping mall some 20 miles from where the truck was stolen, he reportedly called police but did not wait for them to respond. Instead, there was a confrontation.
“One person got out of the car and attempted to contact the suspect on the side of the truck,” the KSAT report noted. “It’s unclear what happened next, but police say the suspect may have pulled out a firearm before the other man shot and killed him while in the stolen truck.”
There was no mention of this in the KOMO version, which consisted of four paragraphs.
People from around the globe seemed to sympathize more with the truck’s owner than the man who apparently stole it.
One person from Long Island, N.Y. noted in the Daily Mail, “This whole thing was entirely preventable. Don’t steal the efing truck.”
Another person, writing at the KSAT website, observed, “Don’t charge the guy. Give him a medal and be done with it. He did what the police should have done and can’t do.”
Meanwhile, a woman responding to the story at the KOMO Facebook page stated, “This was vigilante justice and he will go to prison for it. You do not take matters into your own hands over something material. Material can be replaced human lives cannot. And he just ruined his life completely.”
Several respondents contended the alleged thief would not have been killed if he hadn’t initially stolen the truck. A couple of people compared theft of the truck to the theft of a horse in the 19th Century, reminding readers that justice was harsh for Old West horse thieves.
Depending upon which forum one views, the debate is pretty lively.
The investigation is still in progress, and it is not clear whether the unidentified truck owner will face any criminal charges. Police have not confirmed whether they recovered a firearm that may have been used by the suspect.
