Who was Gary Rasor? Injured Home Depot worker, 83, dies weeks after being shoved to ground by shoplifter
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA: A Home Depot employee died six weeks after being injured during a shoplifting incident. A suspected serial shoplifter knocked him to the concrete floor while the employee tried to stop him from stealing. The shoplifter stole three pressure washers valued at $800.
On December 1, Gary Rasor died from injuries sustained in the confrontation at a Home Depot on October 18. While trying to stop the shoplifter from rolling away the cart of pressure washers, Rasor extended his arm and the shoplifter knocked him to the ground.
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Who was Gary Rasor?
Gary Rasor was a worker at the garden area of Hillsborough Home Depot in North Carolina. He worked at the store for nine years. The 83-year-old was shunted while trying to stop the shoplifters from stealing the cart-load of pressure washers.
MEAWW previously reported on the shocking incident of the shoplifter shoving Rasor to the ground who was then an unidentified victim sustaining injuries.
The horrifying incident was caught on the store's surveillance footage. Rasor noticed the thief who was clad in a dark Calvin Klein hoodie and face mask sped with three pressure washers. He immediately tried to stop the thief from leaving the store by putting out his arm but the thief pushed the old man and he fell to the ground hitting his head on a potted plant. He reportedly suffered from a mild heart attack.
Sharing the surveillance footage with and writing "The suspect fled the scene in a white, 4-door, Hyundai Sonata with a North Carolina Temporary tag obscured from witnesses," the Hillsborough Police Department wrote about the incident in their Facebook post.
Rasor who struggled to stand up and was injured with multiple fractures got admitted to the hospital. In the weeks until his death, he moved in and out of the hospital for his treatment where he celebrated his 83rd birthday.
Rasor's wife Yovone said that before his death, the couple planned on retiring and traveling to first meet their new grandchild whom they did not meet yet, reports Daily Mail. Hoping that he would recover, they even bought plane tickets for the holidays time to visit their family.
His stepdaughter Leigh Bucholtz requests to contact the police if anyone has information about the suspect before he is set to hurt or kill someone else.
"What I want is for the attacker to be apprehended immediately. I want his face on every TV, in every newspaper, on billboards and social media until there is no place for him hide." Bucholtz said to the Daily Mail. "My first priority was Gary and his care but now that he's passed my next priority and the best way to honor Gary is to catch his attacker.", she further added.
According to the Daily Mail, the Hillsborough Police Department confirms that Rasor's death is linked to his injuries from the incident and the medical examiner has confirmed it as a case of homicide. Rasor's son Jeff said that "It's just beyond our comprehension that someone would do this for a couple of power washers… that just is mind-boggling."
Talking to CBS 17, Yovone told that "It's just hard, and I know it sounds silly, but I'm still waiting for him to come back home." She said that Rasor recognized the shoplifter and when "He saw the video for the first time in the hospital, and he was very upbeat, and wasn't worried about anything until he saw that video. He lost it… he just lost it."
"He knows the guy is a thief. He's been there,he's seen him in the store before. And what he told me was that sometimes the guy will buy one or two items so he has a receipt, and then he'll add more stuff to his cart and flash the receipt.", she further added.
Rasor was rushed to the ICU one day before Thanksgiving and a week later, he died. Remembering Rasor, the Daily Mail reports that a home depot spokesman said that "We are heartbroken by the loss of our associate Gary. He was part of our team for more than nine years. He was an amazing friend, husband, father and grandfather, always willing to help anyone." and ended saying "Right now, our top concern is supporting his family and our associates during this difficult time."
Calling the suspect a 'menace to society', the Hillsborough Police urges anyone with information about the shoplifter to contact the authorities at 919 296 9562.