Mack Wagner

A South Grand Boulevard convenience store closed its doors on Wednesday to honor a beloved 62-year-old employee who witnesses say was shot and killed by a customer. A fellow Kaiser’s Grand Mart employee, Karen Bellah, said trouble started when her co-worker, Mack Wagner, asked to check the customer’s bag as a security precaution. Bellah told the Post-Dispatch that the victim, who had worked at the store for eight years, had tried to get a customer with a “man purse” to empty his bag, as per store policy. When the man refused, the two argued for a moment, said Bellah, who witnessed the whole incident. Wagner pulled out his pepper spray just as the man pulled a gun and shot him, she said. Bellah said she tried to stop the bleeding while another co-worker called the police. By the time they got there Monday afternoon, Wagner was unconscious. He died at a hospital a few hours later. “There was just too much blood,” she said. Investigators have not identified a suspect in the case. Bellah said the mini-mart, at 5008 S. Grand Blvd., was closed on Wednesday to host a memorial for him. Alberto Garcia, a regular at the store, said he pulled up to the gas station Monday and saw police cars. He said he came back later to get some gas when Bellah told him Wagner had died. “Every time I used to buy fried chicken, he’d give me an extra piece because we’d talk,” he said. “He was a nice person. It’s tragic.” Garcia said he is trying to leave the Dutchtown neighborhood, because he hears gunshots every night, a sound that, even after years there, still frightens him. “Crime in this part of the city is getting a lot worse,” he said. “My kids are traumatized.” Bellah said another co-worker wanted to quit after Monday’s shooting, something she’s considered many times herself. “My daughter said, ‘It’s time to quit, Mom,’” Bellah said. “And I don’t blame her.” In the aftermath of the shooting, Bellah said she is trying to get in touch with the victim’s family to plan the funeral. Wagner, she said, was a beacon for the community, and if someone came in with no money, he would find a way to feed them. “Everybody loved Mack,” she said. “I didn’t think it would end up like this.” Sara Bajric, who regularly patronizes the store, signed Wagner’s memorial poster Wednesday afternoon. She said she had known Wagner for about a year, and they always exchanged jokes. Bajric said she had just seen him, while out running errands about a week ago. They talked, as friends would. Bajric said she could not bear to go to the store now, as usual. It would remind her of the times she and Wagner would joke and laugh. “I was shocked,” she said. “Why do good people always go?”