Detectives release photos of suspects in deadly Denny's robbery

HOUSTON

The photos, which were released late Wednesday, show the chaos that unfolded inside the restaurant late Monday night.

A day after Greig Placette was shot and killed during a restaurant robbery, his son Drue is still struggling with the reality of it.

"I have to forgive, come to peace with the situation," Drue Placette said. "Fact is, those people are going to hurt somebody else or do something else stupid."

Greig Placette, a grandfather, small business owner and military veteran, was among the customers inside a westside Denny's late Monday when three armed masked men violently barged in. You can see each of them in surveillance stills taken from video inside the restaurant. Police say there may also have been a fourth person driving the getaway vehicle.

Police say they demanded money and two of the three opened fire. Placette, who protected young children, was shot and later died.

Jonathan Ochoa was a coworker and friend who was with Placette at the restaurant.

"I got on my hands and knees and I grabbed his hand and I just started squeezing it and talking to him and telling him how much I loved him and to stay with me," Ochoa said.

Now as investigators work to put the killers behind bars, Drue Placette wants his father to be remembered for how he lived as much as how he died.

"I'm glad he went out this way. I'm glad that's how he got to go out. He got to do good," Drue Placette said.

In lieu of flowers, the Placette family wants anyone who wants to help to donate money to the Houston Food Bank in Greig Placette's name. He volunteered there every Thanksgiving Day.

Meanwhile, a Denny's employee who was also shot in the robbery is now sitting up in bed after surgery, and corporate headquarters tells us he's doing much better now.

Find Tom on Facebook at TomAbrahams or on Twitter at @tomabrahams

Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices

Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.