ST. LOUIS — "It's real horrible because he meant the world to me," Rena Anderson said.
Anderson and Mack Wagner dated for the past four months. Both also worked at a Dutchtown gas station near the intersection of South Grand Boulevard and Delor Street. She's a cashier, and he was a beloved cook.
"He was fun, loving, happy and he was living his best life," Anderson said.
Wagner's life was suddenly snuffed away Monday afternoon.
Witnesses told police that at about 3 p.m. Monday, a man walked inside the family-owned gas station, and Wagner spotted him apparently stealing some doughnuts.
"He was trying to stop someone from stealing, and he told the person to give him the stuff, and the person said, 'No, I can take whatever I want.' I wasn't there, but that's what our co-worker told me happened," Anderson said.
Wagner and the guy then argued.
Rena Anderson says four customers and two employees were inside the gas station at the time.
"Mack maced him, and then he shot Mack in the lower abdomen," Anderson said.
Wagner, a 62-year-old father of three, died at a hospital. He had worked at the south city gas station for several years.
"After he shot him, he ran off with a woman. We don't know which way he went," Anderson said.
"(Wagner) was really loved because he'd been here so long, everybody knew him," the man's girlfriend said.
All day Wednesday, regular customers stopped by the business to express their condolences on two poster boards now taped to the gas station's window.
"It's just really shocking. It's sad," one customer said.
They couldn't believe what had happened to Mack.
"I just came over here hoping to get something to eat, and I saw that the store's closed today. I was shocked to hear what happened. I mean, wow! He was a really nice guy," one customer said.
Wednesday morning, Wagner's co-workers and friends held a two-hour-long vigil outside the business to honor him.
"It's very upsetting because they haven't caught the person yet and we want justice for Mack," Anderson said. "He didn't deserve this."
According to crime data, as of Wednesday, there have been 96 homicides in St. Louis so far this year. That's about the same number of similar crimes a year ago.
Anyone with information about the murder of Wagner can call the Homicide Division at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at (314) 444-5371. To remain anonymous, contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477).