Store owner’s son killed in attempted robbery

Copiah County law enforcement officers are hunting for a man who shot and killed an 18-year-old at a store the young man’s family had bought a month ago.

Father Mike Behal and his family are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever killed Shiva Behal on Friday at the Stuckey’s in Gallman.

Sheriff Harold Jones says that Shiva Behal was behind the counter when a man put a container of oil on the counter and demanded money Friday afternoon. Behal refused and was shot.

Jones says a painter who was working in the back of the store saw the gunman go over a fence and into woods near Interstate 55.

Witnesses who saw the suspect fleeing describe him as a black male around 30 years old with a thin beard. The man was last seen wearing a white or cream colored shirt and a white cap.

Funeral services for Shiva Behal were held Monday morning at the Riverwood Funeral Home in Brookhaven.

If you have any information that will help law enforcement in this case call the Copiah County Sheriff’s Department at 601-894-3011.