Mckeough, 23, a senior airman at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, was killed March 15 after he tackled an armed robber at a North Little Rock  convenience store. Court documents show Mckeough likely protected several innocent people in his attempt to stop the robber, only to be shot in the face by another assailant.

Police have arrested four people in connection with the shooting. Drequan Lamont Robinson and Keith Lamont Harris, both 18, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery. They are being held without bail. Darrius Stewart, 17, and Keith Keshawn Harris, 16, were charged Wednesday with capital murder and aggravated robbery. The two teenagers were due in court Wednesday, after the American Journal’s deadline, and prosecutors are expected to try them as adults, police said. The suspects could face the death penalty on the capital murder charge.

Suzanne Joyce of Westbrook, a friend of Mckeough’s family, called Mckeough “an amazing young man” and said she is still trying to process his tragic death. She said his funeral will be held at Jones, Rich and Barnes on Woodfords Street in Portland sometime next week.

Mckeough was a 2014 graduate of Westbrook High School, where he played hockey and soccer.

“All of us in the Westbrook Schools are deeply saddened by Shawn Mckeough’s tragic death,” said Superintendent Peter Lancia.  “He was a bright, personable young man with such a promising future. His circle of friends was wide and our whole community will all miss him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family.”

Mckeough grew up mostly in Westbrook with his mother, Lisa Marie Hebert, step-father, Tom Hebert, and younger brother, Kyle Hebert. His father, Shawn Mckeough Sr., lives in Florida.

After high school, Mckeough enlisted in the Air Force and had deployed to Germany, Kuwait and South Korea. He had been in Arkansas since December and was serving as an aerial delivery operations specialist for the 19th Airlift Wing. His girfriend of three years, Sarah Terrano, also a Westbrook native, moved to Arkansas to be with him. 

An affidavit from North Little Rock Police Detective Michael Gibbons offered harrowing details of the attempted robbery.

After conducting interviews with clerks and other customers in the store, police learned Robinson and Stewart, entered the store around 11:30 p.m. waving guns. The other two suspects stayed behind in a parked vehicle.

The two robbers ordered the customers, eight people in all, to lie on the floor and one armed man shouted at a cashier behind the counter, “You think this is a (expletive) game. You think I am playing. Open the drawer right now.”

At that point, Mckeough, who had entered the store with two friends to buy beer while Terrano waited outside in the car, attempted to intervene, Gibbons wrote, by tackling one robber. While that was happening, the other robber fired a shot that struck Mckeough in the face.

The cashier had turned his back to empty the register when he heard a click and then a gunshot, the affidavit said.

The two men then fled the store before the store employee could hand over any money.

Mckeough had died by the time officers arrived.

Detectives reviewed video footage from inside the store that captured the events and helped them identify suspects. The affidavit said five different individuals were able to identify Robinson from the surveillance images.

Mckeough’s mother said this week that the family was grateful for all the work that has been done to catch the people responsible for her son’s killing.

“We would like to thank everyone for their love and support,” Hebert said.

Shawn Mckeough and Sarah Terrano of Westbrook. Mckeough was killed last week in Arkansas, where he was based with the U.S. Air Force.

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