The chief national correspondent for ABC News is receiving blistering criticism for his decision to report "looters" to police investigating a dead body in Houston.
Tom Llamas, the weekend anchor for ABC's World News Tonight, tweeted, "We're witnessing looting right now at a large supermarket in the NE part of Houston and police have just discovered a body nearby."
"We informed police of the looting and Coast Guard is flying overhead. Multiple officers now on the scene."
Llamas deleted the tweet acknowledging he reported "looters" at a Fiesta supermarket to police ( of deleted tweet).
It has been four days since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 storm.
"Llamas, who has previously won awards for his coverage of Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, is clearly no stranger to the devastation they can cause or the frenzy they can set off in those who are just struggling to survive within them," the AV Club noted. "In light of Llamas’ clarification, some have also recommended Tom Llamas wade right into that supermarket, find the largest extant pineapple, and go f*ck himself with it—but only after paying for it. Anyway, be sure to follow Tom Llamas for more hard-hitting investigative stories about people fighting for their lives and where the police can arrest them."
A similar tone criticizing Llamas' personal values and journalistic integrity spread quickly across the internet.