Outraged Texas officials have issued a reward for information about the suspect who killed a military veteran outside his retirement home.
Nelson Beckett, 90, a U.S. Navy veteran, was shot and killed by an unidentified carjacker outside the Lonestar Senior Living Apartments in Houston on Saturday.
He was sitting in his car when the man approached him, attacked him and shot him, according to Fox News. The attacker then stole Beckett’s belongings and his vehicle before running him over.
Beckett’s car was later found abandoned at an apartment complex on Dunlap Street, about three miles away. The 90-year-old man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to ABC13.
As the search for the robber continues, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that anyone with information that could lead him to justice will receive $10,000.
Ninety-year-old veteran Nelson Beckett was shot and run over with his own car in a violent carjacking outside his retirement home.
The great-grandfather was killed by an unknown gunman near the Lone Star Living complex in Houston around noon Saturday, police said.
‘Cecilia and I are deeply saddened to learn of the murder of 90-year-old Navy veteran Nelson Beckett in Houston,’ said Governor he told Click 2 Houston. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones, and to the entire Houston community during this difficult time.”
He added that the state “is already working with our local partners and providing every support to bring this criminal to justice.”
‘Texas will always support the brave men and women who answered the call to serve in our nation’s military, and with the help of the public, we will capture this killer and put him behind bars.’
Houston Crime Stoppers is also offering a $5,000 reward to those with information about the suspect, bringing the total reward money to $15,000 for anyone who can help police locate the suspect.
He has been described as a black man between 25 and 30 years old, according to Fox News.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that anyone with information that could bring the killer to justice will receive $10,000.
Meanwhile, family and friends remember the veteran as a kind and funny man.
He spent much of his retirement helping others, including driving people without cars to medical appointments and Sunday church services.
Beckett even offered his home as a halfway house, taking guests to beg and taking them to church, where he even baptized some of them.
“He loved his family very much,” his daughter, Tami Freund, told Fox News. “To him, everyone had value and he would do anything for anyone.”
He also loved meeting new people and would often greet them with jokes or by handing them his business card that said “my card,” Freund said.
“Nelson was a bit of a comedian,” said Steve Sandifer, a friend of Beckett’s for 47 years. added to Click 2 Houston.
“He always had a funny story. And when he started talking about, well, ‘there was a man…’ you knew it was a story, not something real. And eventually you got to the point.
“But he was a very loving man, very caring. He was a good Christian, a faithful man. He loved Jesus. He loved his church.”
Beckett served in the Navy while the United States was testing atomic bombs, his friend said.
Beckett is survived by five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Sandifer also shared a story about Beckett’s time in the Navy.
“I was in the Navy when the atomic bomb tests were taking place. I was on a ship when they detonated the Bikini Atoll bomb,” he said.
‘He talked about all the boys who went up on the deck of the ship and were told to turn their backs on the island.
“They were obviously human guinea pigs to see what would happen,” Sandifer said.
“He remembered that the light was very, very bright. It was like the X-rays you see in cartoons, where the light is huge.”
Beckett grew up in Oklahoma City, where he married his wife of 55 years.
Then, in the early 1960s, they both moved to Houston with their two sons.
At the time of her death, Beckett had five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and another on the way.