Home Depot employee killed after confronting shoplifter in San Francisco Bay Area

A Home Depot employee was fatally shot inside a San Francisco Bay Area store on Tuesday after he attempted to stop a shoplifter from stealing, authorities said. 

Police officers responded to calls of a shooting and a gunshot victim inside the Home Depot on Johnson Drive in Pleasanton, California, the Pleasanton Police Department said in a statement. 

The officers found the man bleeding and rendered aid. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries, according to the Alameda County Coroner. The victim was identified as Blake Mohs, 26, of the Tri-Valley. 

According to witnesses, the employee tried to stop a female shoplifter, who resisted which lead to a struggle between the two. During the struggle, one of the suspects shot the employee. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle.  

Police located the suspect’s vehicle and the suspects at around 2:30 p.m. near the 7000 block of Ney Avenue in Oakland.

The suspects were subsequently arrested. They were identified as Benicia Knapps, 32, and David Guillory, 31. Police added that “Knapps’ child was also inside the vehicle,” at the time of the arrest. 

Police are still investigating the incident. 

"We’re heartbroken over this senseless tragedy," Home Depot said in a statement, confirming that the man was a store employee. "Blake was our associate and friend, and our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him." 

Mohs was a loss-prevention employee at the branch store. He was a “well-known member of the community” who was involved in youth programs and was planning to get married this summer, according to the statement posted by the Pleasanton Police Department. 

“I am devastated by the loss of Blake Mohs in yesterday’s senseless shooting,” Mayor Karla Brown said in a statement shared by police. “Through his service to Tri-Valley organizations, Blake was a model for others. To have a life cut short is heartbreaking and infuriating.”