Mack Wagner

A South Grand Boulevard convenience store closed its doors on Wednesday to honor Mack Wagner, 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, 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. Bellah said the mini-mart, at 5008 S. Grand Blvd., was closed on Wednesday to host a memorial for him. Wagner was a beacon for the community, Bellah said, 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." Investigators have not identified a suspect in the case.