Texas veteran, 90, dies after being shot and run over by his own car outside retirement home by thief
A Texas veteran has tragically died after being brutally attacked by a thief.
Over the weekend, 90-year-old Nelson Beckett was shot and then run over with his own car during a violent carjacking outside a Houston retirement home, resulting in his death.
Authorities in Houston stated that the veteran was alone in the parking lot of the Lone Star Living assisted living complex in the southwest around midday on Saturday when an unidentified suspect approached the senior and immediately started attacking him.
He then shot Beckett before hijacking his vehicle and fleeing the scene, running over the 90-year-old in the process.
This is 90 yo Nelson Beckett. He was killed yesterday during a carjacking. A Navy vet who loved his growing family per his daughter. She says, “He was the kindest, funniest man you’d ever meet. He loved meeting people and greeted them all with jokes. To him, everyone had value. pic.twitter.com/3PuORy3RTF
— Abigail Dye (@AbigailDyeNews) September 1, 2024
Someone in the local area allegedly heard the gunshot during the altercation and recalled the harrowing incident to KHOU 11.
“He had his little shopping cart and a scuffle ensued,” neighbor Rod Boson told the outlet. “They say he put up a good fight. That’s when he got shot. As the suspect backed up, he hit [the victim].”
Police later found the stolen car abandoned at an apartment complex on Dunlap Street.
“This is… This is just, it’s pathetic as it gets,” Houston police Lt. Jonathan French said, per KPCR. “That’s all I’ll say.”
Beckett’s family identified his body the following day. Speaking to Fox 26, his daughter, Tami Freund described him as “the kindest, funniest man you’d ever meet.”
He served in the Navy and was known for his love of meeting people, the outlet reported. He had a unique sense of humor and often greeted others with jokes and handed out his famous business card, which read: “My card.”
He also believed that everyone had purpose and value in this world and that positive mindset clearly proved to be helpful when living a long and happy life.
“He loved big and loved his family so much,” Freund added. “To him, everyone had value, and he would do anything for anyone.”
His daughter says he’d drive all the way to the panhandle to take friends from a halfway house to church. Even baptizing some of them. It makes it even more sinister that the car he used for so much good & giving was the entire motive for his killing.
— Abigail Dye (@AbigailDyeNews) September 1, 2024
On social media, tributes have been pouring in for the late veteran after news of his death started getting around.
“We need justice for Nelson Beckett. A life of service until the very end. He did not deserve an undignified death as this,” one user wrote, while another added: “This breaks my heart. My dad spent 30 years in the Navy. I feel this. God bless his family and fair winds and following seas.”
“These tough guy thugs pick on the most vulnerable,” a third pointed out.
Police said the carjacker remains on the loose and is considered “armed and dangerous.”
Our thoughts remain with Beckett’s loved ones during this difficult time.
