Home Depot Worker, 26, Is Shot and Killed Trying to Stop Shoplifting Couple

A Home Depot employee in California was shot and killed outside his store while trying to stop an alleged thief and her boyfriend, who fled with a two-year-old child in their car.

Blake Mohs, 26, was fatally wounded during a struggle which took place after he spotted the pair trying to leave in Pleasanton, east of San Francisco, on Tuesday.

The district is a Democrat enclave, and Home Depot has long been targeted by thieves. In 2019, the retailer began paying police overtime in Oakland – at least $2.1 million by 2021 – to guard its store.

Benicia Knapps, 32, and David Guillory, 31, were later arrested on suspicion of murder, robbery, child endangerment and conspiracy, according to police.

Knapps, a licensed security guard with a criminal history, had attempted to steal a phone charger, according to witnesses.

Police responded to calls at about 2.15pm of a man bleeding inside the store and rendered aid to the victim before he was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Alameda County Coroner later confirmed the victim died, and Home Depot confirmed he was an employee.

‘We’re heartbroken over this senseless tragedy. Blake was our associate and friend, and our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him,’ the retailer said in a statement.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office quickly located the suspects’ vehicle and detained them about 2.30pm in Oakland before a handgun was found at a nearby intersection.

Mohs was reportedly a Boy Scout leader who was engaged to be married to fiancée Kasey Silligman.

Pleasanton police Lt. Erik Silacci said Knapps had been attempting to steal an electrical item and was ‘determined to exit without paying.’

Mohs confronted her and a ‘physical confrontation ensues.’

Silacci said Knapps then pulled out a handgun and fired what would be fatal shots at Mohs.

Knapps is a licensed security guard with a criminal history involving theft, according to California state records.

Her two-year-old child was apparently in the car at the time and was released to relatives.

Guillory was booked at Santa Rita Jail and Knapps was taken to the hospital and ‘will later be taken to jail.’

The mayor of Pleasanton said: ‘I am devastated by the loss of Blake Mohs in yesterday’s senseless shooting.

‘Through his service to Tri-Valley organizations, Blake was a model for others. To have a life cut short is heartbreaking and infuriating.’

One friend of Mohs’, Scott Rodgers, told KTVU that Mohs has been beloved by all and was ‘an incredible person.’

He said that Mohs has been a volunteer with younger Boy Scouts, having himself reached the rank of Eagle Scout – the highest rank a Scout can earn before turning 18 – in 2014.

Mohs’ wedding website shows he was supposed to be married on August 12 at the campsite where he met Silligman, while they were both volunteering with the Scouts.

The shooting comes several months after an 83-year-old man was fatally shoved at a Home Depot in North Carolina as he attempted to confront a thief with several hundred dollars worth of stolen goods.

Authorities shared the shocking footage of a suspect shoving the 83-year-old to the ground as he walked out of the store with a cart of stolen goods.

The victim, Gary Rasor, died of his injuries weeks after the assault.

The suspect, 26-year-old Terry McAnthony McMillian Jr., was apprehended in January and charged with first-degree murder and robbery.