Washington: A 36-year-old Indian-origin man, Mainank Patel, was shot and killed during a robbery at his convenience store in the US state of North Carolina. Patel, the owner of the Tobacco House store on Airport Road, was shot on Tuesday morning, the Salisbury Post reported.
A juvenile male has been taken into custody for the crime, as stated by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. Due to his age, the suspect’s identity has not been released. He was arrested on Tuesday evening, though no further details have been provided.
Deputies were initially dispatched to the Tobacco House store in response to a 911 hang-up call, said Captain Mark McDaniel, the public information officer for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. While they were en route, they received reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, deputies found Patel suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, McDaniel added.
Patel was first taken to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center before being transferred to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, where he later died from his injuries, according to the report.
Security footage showed a tall, slender white male fleeing the scene across the store parking lot. He was dressed in black shorts, a black hoodie, a black ski mask, and white Nike tennis shoes with burgundy logos. The suspect appeared to be holding a black handgun, McDaniel said.
The motive for the shooting is unclear, but authorities currently believe it was a robbery. No one else was injured in the incident.
Patel is survived by his pregnant wife, Ami, who is seven-and-a-half months along, and their 5-year-old daughter.
The community is mourning Patel’s death, with customers and employees recalling his kindness and generosity. He was affectionately known as “Mike” by those who knew him. Flowers and cards were placed outside his store, Tobacco House, on Wednesday as a tribute to him.
“It hit everybody because this was a family, this was a community family store,” said customer Ann Ellis.
Javier Lopez, who has been maintaining the store’s lawn for years, even before Patel took over from his cousin, described the Patel family as treating everyone like family. “I just saw him yesterday morning, and on my way home from work, I saw the police and stopped to see what had happened,” Lopez said. “There are just no words to describe how great a guy Mike was.”
Patricia Howard, another regular customer, added, “He was a super good man, good to his customers, loved his family, and would have helped anyone.”
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