NYC Store Owner Dies After Violent Robbery

A pawn shop owner in Queens, NY, has died after being beaten during a robbery.

Arasb Shoughi was attacked on the afternoon of March 28 while working at his business, Global Pawn Shop, the New York Post reports. He was struck with a metal rod and died April 17 of his injuries.

“The suspect first tried to sell watches to the owner, and then during the robbery miscellaneous jewelry was taken,” the Jewelers’ Security Alliance reported in an alert to members.

The death “has been deemed a homicide” by the New York Police Department, the Post reports.

Shoughi, 60, was beaten so severely that officers responding to the scene first believed he had been shot. The New York Daily News reports that he passed away at Jamaica Hospital, where he was taken after the attack.

The suspect, who was seen in surveillance images, remains at large. He was seen headed westbound on Jamaica Avenue.

JSA will pay a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. He is described as 5 feet 7 inches, 150 pounds and with a medium build.