On December 29, 2023, at approximately 10:09 p.m., 34-year-old Sheikh Abir-Hossain was fatally shot during an armed robbery at Kris Food Mart, located at 3090 Gulf Street in Beaumont, Texas. Abir-Hossain, a dedicated student pursuing a master's degree in business at Lamar University, was working as a store clerk to support his family, including his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
Surveillance footage revealed that two masked individuals, later identified as 19-year-old Keandre Marquis Robinson of Beaumont and 26-year-old Larry Nathaniel Hagan of Needville, Texas, entered the store brandishing semi-automatic pistols. Robinson forced Abir-Hossain behind the counter, demanding cash, and then shot him twice in the chest. The assailants fled the scene, taking only a pack of cigarettes.
Approximately three hours after the incident, Beaumont Police arrested Robinson following multiple Crime Stoppers tips and a review of surveillance images. Robinson was detained near his residence, just a few blocks from the store. A search of his cell phone uncovered text messages between Robinson and Hagan planning the robbery, including discussions about eliminating "loose ends."
Hagan remained at large until April 24, 2024, when U.S. Marshals apprehended him in New Orleans. He was found in the company of 26-year-old Brooke Ashley West, who was arrested on an unrelated warrant and was alleged to have been harboring Hagan during his fugitive status.
In October 2024, both Robinson and Hagan pleaded guilty to federal charges of possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. They each face up to life in federal prison, with sentencing hearings pending following the completion of presentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office.
The tragic loss of Abir-Hossain, who had moved to Beaumont from Bangladesh to pursue higher education and provide a better life for his family, deeply affected the local community and his colleagues at Lamar University. In the wake of his death, a GoFundMe campaign organized by the Bangladesh Student Association at Lamar University raised nearly $80,000 to support his surviving wife and young daughter.
