Ten years after US Marine Veteran Shawn Clark was shot to death while defending his Malden skate shop, his murder remains unsolved.
“It hurts every day,” Shawn’s mother, Anita Clark told me. “The pain and anguish is awful to deal with.”
On January 29, 2013, at about 12:30PM, two armed, masked, and hooded men walked into Shawn’s store, Patriot Skateboards, and approached Shawn who was sitting near the cash register.
Almost immediately, Shawn struggled with the men. Shots were fired. The fight stretched from inside the store to the sidewalk, where Shawn was found.
“It was a robbery gone bad. They walked into rob a skateboard shop in the daytime. They got nothing,” Anita Clark said.
Shawn opened Patriot Skateboards when he returned from active duty in the Iraq War. The shop was his dream to build a skateboarding community in Malden. On the day of his murder, Shawn was filling in for one of his employees who needed some time off.
SURVEILLANCE OF THE SUSPECTS:
The Middlesex County DA’s office has released images of two armed hooded men inside Patriot Skateboards.
When one of them drew a gun, Shawn, likely reverting to his military training, fought back.
In 2016, I interviewed Shawn’s widow, Melissa Clark.
“Nobody was going to stroll in, gun or no gun, and try to take anything,” Melissa said.
Shawn Clark survived two tours of Iraq, only to die on the streets of Malden in a senseless act of gun violence.
His family now, wants justice
“They didn’t rob the shop, they robbed us. I don’t think somebody should be allowed to get away with that,” Melissa Clark said.
“Ward: How proud are you of your son?” I asked Anita Clark. “I’m proud of him for wanting to be a proud Marine, for following that dream, and also, for sticking up for himself and he had to fight to his death,” Anita Clark said.
REWARD OFFERED:
Shawn Clark’s family and friends are offering a $60,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office is actively working on the Shawn Clark case.
If you have any information, contact:
Massachusetts State Police at 781-897-6600 or Malden Police at 781-397-7171
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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