Army officer that served in Afghanistan fatally shot outside Virginia Wawa

A U.S. military officer was fatally shot at a convenience store in Virginia on Tuesday in what police believe might be a random act of violence.

Robert Gooch, 34, was with his 13-year-old daughter at a Wawa store in Chesterfield County around 7 p.m. to buy popcorn before watching a movie, the Richmond-Times Dispatch reported.

The victim's father, Robert Gooch III, told the news outlet that his son was heading toward his car after leaving the store, roughly 15 miles southwest of Richmond, when the incident occurred. He said Gooch pushed his daughter out of the way and told her to "get down" and to call her grandfather.

“He’s an Army officer and he understands how to give orders and get things done,” the father said. “He’s not somebody who would ever panic. He was calm and in charge.”

The father-of-three was reportedly shot multiple times before he was transported to the hospital, where he died.

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