“I’m dying, I’m going to die” was 61-year-old Jorge Arbaiza’s heartbreaking last words to his wife after being shot five times inside a McDonald’s in Texas. The innocent Houston grandfather became a tragic bystander in a gang shootout while trying to get Happy Meals for his grandkids. His wife and grandchildren waited in their car in the parking lot while he went inside. Moments later, shots rang out. “I called him when I saw all the people come out,” she recalled teary-eyed to KHOU 11. “He didn’t come out.”
Unarmed and terrified, Arbaiza’s wife could do nothing while her husband died inside the Texas McDonald’s. “I couldn’t leave the kids alone,” she said. “The kids were crying, and they were scared.” According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, those involved in the senseless shootout were relatively young, only between 16 and 21 years old. Needless to say, they had no problem if innocent bystanders were injured or killed. “All I want is justice,” says Arbaiza’s sister-in-law.
Commenters on the news report are naturally infuriated at the absolute disregard for the loss of life the killers had. “These clowns have no code or ethics,” one YouTube viewer remarks. “Can’t even get a darn burger in peace anymore,” groans another. “Houston is just as bad as Chicago now,” complains a third. “Born and raised in Houston, and the list of “used to be nice” areas of town is growing,” adds in a fourth. “So heartbreaking to see this nonsense happening.”
While plenty of commenters did share their condolences to the surviving family of the Texas grandfather, several viewed the situation with a skewed perspective. “Don’t act like you care now. You would normally call ICE on him and have him deported,” claims one user. “He should’ve stayed in his home country! At least everyone there speaks their language!” complains another, referring to how Arbaiza’s wife and sister-in-law did not speak English in the interview. Of course, plenty more heavily implied they knew the ethnicity of the shooters, referring to them as “usual suspects.”
Whatever the case, Arbaiza’s grandchildren tragically lost “the best grandfather,” one who “would give everything the kids wanted.” According to Click2Houston, the police haven’t arrested anyone yet, but a vehicle believed to be used by the suspects was discovered. Hopefully, the thugs responsible get what’s coming to them and pay for taking such a precious member of a family.
