HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston military veteran has died after a brutal attack outside a grocery store.

Investigators initially thought 80-year-old Earl Hollins was the victim of a robbery gone bad, but they soon realized the attack involved a parking space.

According to investigators, the attack happened in the Food Town parking lot.

It was later determined that Hollins and suspect Anthony Boyce, 57, knew each other somewhat.

“Someone was saying they knew this guy because they were always at Food Town,” Alma Hollins-Washington said.

Boyce allegedly attacked Hollins then took off in his truck.

Washington said his uncle was brain dead following the attack and the family decided to take him off life support.

“You took something great from us…something we will never recover from,” she said.

Uncle Earl, as Washington likes to call him, was a father, grandfather and military veteran.

She said he was a maverick who had seen and done a lot in his life, often making him the most interesting person in the room.

“He was one of a kind. I mean, to know him, you have to love him. He was an easy-going person. He was friendly,” Washington said.

Hollins was a person who led with love, according to his family.

Boyce currently faces a charge of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, but that charge could be upgraded.

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