Man slain in liquor store robbery was protecting co-worker, family says

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Friday, April 22, 2016 | 10:30 a.m.

The family of an employee gunned down Monday night during a holdup at a Lee’s Discount Liquor store said the man gave up his life to protect a co-worker and is urging the robbers to give themselves up.

“Turn yourselves in,” said Reggie Christensen, brother of 24-year-old victim Matthew Christensen. “People know who you are; they saw your faces; you’re all over the news; this wasn’t a small incident.”

Matthew Christensen, a part-time worker, was shot after he couldn’t get into the store’s safe, Metro Police said.

A pregnant co-worker had access to the safe, but he didn’t say anything to protect her, his family said. “It was very brave of him,” said his mother, Theresa Christensen, speaking Thursday at a news conference at the Excalibur.

The pregnant store manager, Jamie Henderson, said she plans to name her unborn son after Matthew Christensen.

The robbery happened about 9:45 p.m. Monday when three men — two brandishing handguns — stormed into the store at 8785 W. Warm Springs Road, near Durango Drive, police said.

Police surmise they intended only to rob the store but became frustrated when they couldn’t get into the safe, Lt. Dan McGrath said.

Matthew Christensen’s hands were in the air when the fatal rounds were fired, police said. He didn’t fight back or run and was killed “execution style,” McGrath said.

No arrests have been made.

Matthew Christensen had just been hired to a full-time job as a property inspector, but he stayed on part-time at the liquor store, where he had worked about two years, his mother said.

He was saving money to buy a car, and “he loved working for Lee’s,” she said.

He loved pop culture, and if there was a movie premier about superheroes, he was there, Theresa Christensen said. He also enjoyed anime, the TV show “Game of Thrones” and playing Xbox video games with his younger brother and cousin, she said.

He was a jokester and could make her laugh to the point of tears, she said.

“Matthew has — I’m not going to say had — the most beautiful smile, and he smiled for everyone,” his mother said. “He never frowned. He just had a smile for everybody.”

A memorial service for family and friends will be at 7:30 p.m. today at the Luxor.

The store, meanwhile, has set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the family. It has collected nearly $25,000 so far.