Inset: Brandan Lucas (GoFundMe). Background: The Five Below store in Las Vegas where Brandan Lucas was shot and killed (KTNV/YouTube).
A man entered a Five Below in Nevada, asked to see a specific employee, and then shot the worker dead in the store after fighting with him over a "relationship" the suspect believed the victim was having with his partner, who is also an employee, according to family members and cops.
"Brandan Lucas was tragically taken from us in a senseless act of violence and jealousy," a GoFundMe says about the victim, who worked at a Five Below in Las Vegas.
Lucas was in the middle of an afternoon shift on June 17 when the suspect, who is still at large, came in around 4:30 p.m., according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department press release.
"The suspect entered the business looking for the victim, who was later determined to be an employee of the business," the press release says. "Once the suspect located the individual, a physical altercation occurred. At some point, the suspect pulled out a firearm, shot the victim and fled the scene."
Officers responded to the Five Below, located in the 2100 block of North Rainbow Boulevard, and found Lucas inside suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I don't think he knew the suspect at all," said Shekiera Wright, Lucas' cousin, in an interview with local Fox affiliate KVVU. "I think the suspect is partner of a co-worker and I think there was some confusion along the lines of what the relationship with between my cousin and the coworker."
Wright told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a text message exchange between Lucas and the colleague was taken out of context, leading the suspect to confront Lucas at the Five Below.
"This went way too far and our family's life is forever affected," Wright said. "We're never going to be the same."
Police say the suspect fled from the Five Below on foot. They have asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section.
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