On a Friday night in March 2019, a tragic event unfolded at a Valero Big Red gas station on West Broadway Avenue in North Little Rock, Arkansas, ending the life of 23-year-old Shawn Mckeough Jr. Mckeough, a male Senior Airman stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, was inside the convenience store when two individuals entered with handguns in an attempt to rob the establishment. In an act of bravery, Mckeough attempted to intervene and stop the robbery.
During his attempt to foil the crime, he was fatally shot by one of the assailants and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Little Rock Police Department swiftly launched an investigation, utilizing surveillance footage to identify the individuals involved. Their efforts led to the arrests of four suspects in connection with the murder and robbery. The first to be apprehended was 18-year-old Drequan Robinson, who was identified as the shooter. Shortly after, police arrested 18-year-old Keith Harris Jr., who admitted to being a passenger in the vehicle used during the robbery and was aware of the impending crime.
The investigation continued to progress with the arrests of two more individuals, 17-year-old Darrius Stewart and 16-year-old Keith Keshawn Harris. Stewart was identified as the second armed suspect who entered the store with Robinson, while Harris was accused of being the driver of the getaway vehicle. Despite their ages, both Stewart and the younger Harris were charged as adults.
In April 2021, Drequan Lamont Robinson, the man who fired the fatal shot, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his role in the death of Shawn Mckeough Jr. The other three individuals involved in the crime also pleaded guilty and received shorter prison sentences for their participation in the robbery that led to the airman's death. Two years after the incident, Mckeough's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the gas station's parent company, alleging a failure to properly train employees on robbery prevention and intervention.
