Authorities are seeking a larcenist-turned-murderer after an 83-year-old Home Depot employee died of injuries suffered weeks earlier during the theft.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of our associate,” Home Depot spokesperson Margaret Smith said of the victim to ABC News on Sunday. “He was an amazing friend, husband, father and grandfather, always willing to help anyone.”
The broad-daylight Oct. 18 attack was caught on surveillance video as a 6-foot-tall man wheeling a cart full of three pressure washers started making his way out of the store in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
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As he strode through the store’s garden area pushing the cart, employee Gary Rasor emerged from the security booth and attempted to block the man’s path.
The alleged shoplifter threw Rasor to the ground with a swipe of the arm, barely breaking his stride as the older man crashed to the ground. The victim smashed his head on what appeared to be a ceramic planter.
Rasor died Wednesday “due to complications from the injuries received,” just days after his 83rd birthday, police said, noting the crime had been ruled a homicide.
The U.S. Army veteran had worked at the store for more than nine years, Smith said, noting that his colleagues had recently celebrated his birthday with him while he was hospitalized.
“Right now, our top concern is supporting his family and our associates during this difficult time,” Smith told ABC News.
