23-Year-Old Airman Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in an Attempt To Stop Armed Robbery
Mourning swept communities from Maine to Arkansas on Monday as friends recalled Air Force Senior Airman Shawn Mckeough, a Maine native who died Friday while trying to stop a convenience store robbery in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
“To fight for your country and then die like this …,” Lisa Marie Herbert, his mother, said, according to CentralMaine.com.
Sarah Terrano, Mckeough’s girfriend, had ridden with him to the Valero Big Red store in North Little Rock on Friday night. She saw men rush in. She heard a shot. The men fled. By the time she reached Mckeough, he was dead. He was 23.
“I really think he tried to get the robbers’ attention so that no one else would get hurt,” she told CentralMaine.com. “That’s just who he was.”
The man who was killed in the robbery at the Valero in North Little Rock was Senior Airmen Shawn Mckeough of the @LRAFB. He was from Maine. He tried to stop the robbery & was allegedly shot and killed by the suspects. There is a $10,000 reward for info about the suspects #ARnews pic.twitter.com/BITnT7TN8c
— Greg Yarbrough (@GregYarbrough) March 17, 2019
North Little Rock police on Monday arrested one suspect in the case, Drequan Lamont Robinson, 18, on charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery, CentralMaine.com reported.
A second suspect is also sought.
“They promised to get them,” Terrano said she was told by police. “I want those two people to sit in jail the rest of their lives. I want them to think about this every day.”
North Little Rock Police Sgt. Amy Cooper described the situation to NewsCenter Maine in emotional terms.
“Tragic losses such as this are just so heartbreaking,” she said.
“It’s just overwhelmingly emotional, especially when you involve a member of our armed services, someone who has stepped up and made the decision to defend their nation and take on that role.
“And to deal with the tragic death of a member such as Shawn Mckeough has just been difficult,” she said.
“Senior Airman Shawn McKeough, 23, was shot and killed trying to stop an armed robbery at a Valero Big Red gas station on Friday.”
Prayers for this brave man’s family. #servicebeforeself #USAF https://t.co/sszElPOL7H
— Krystle Baker (@TarheelKrystle) March 18, 2019
According to CentralMaine.com, Mckeough had already traveled the world in the Air Force, serving in Germany, Kuwait and South Korea.
He had been stationed in Arkansas since December with the 19th Airlift Wing, CentralMaine.com reported.
Mckeough’s commander said the loss hurts.
“We are heartbroken to have lost a valued member of our Team Little Rock family. Shawn’s death will be felt by each of us, and we are committed to supporting his loved ones and fellow airmen during this very difficult time,” Col. Gerald Donohue said in a statement, according to CentralMaine.com.
Mckeough joined the Air Force in July 2015. He twice received the Air Force Achievement Medal.
“Shawn was one of a kind, he lit up any room he walked into. He is so missed, this world will never be the same without him.
“There’s not enough words to truly express how amazing he was,” Terrano told CentralMaine.com.
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