COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A vigil was held Sunday in remembrance of a Columbus convenience store owner who was killed during a shooting last week.

Vijayakumar Nair, otherwise known as Mike, was shot and killed Wednesday while working in his store, Mike’s Carry Out and Grocery, a shooting that left many in the community heartbroken.

Columbus police have arrested Reko Hickson, 43, and charged him with murder. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning.

A memorial has been set up in Nair’s honor outside his store on South Hamilton Road.

Whether you were a frequent customer in his store or just someone in town, everyone said Mike treated them like family.

“He helped anybody and everybody,” said long-time customer Ronda Kroetz. “He was the sweetest, kindest man.”

Kanish Thambyrajah has worked for Nair for the last two summers. She said every day when she came to work, she would see him treat his customers with respect and develop meaningful relationships with them.

Thambyrajah said Nair’s selfless attitude was always on display.

“There would be times where, like, I hadn’t eaten anything, like, before I came in and every hour or so, he’d be, like, checking on me and sometimes he’d offer his own lunch to me,” Thambyrajah said.

The news of Nair’s death was a shock to everyone.

“I saw that one person got shot and my dad was like praying that it wasn’t him and I don’t know how but I just knew that like it was him,” Thambyrajah said.

According to online court records, Hickson entered the convenience store and pulled out a gun in an attempt to rob the business. Nair then pulled out a gun to defend himself, resulting in a shootout between the two men.

As he was running from the store, Hickson ran past the building’s drive-thru window and fired several rounds, striking Nair, police said.

Investigators identified Hickson from surveillance footage and two other active robbery incidents, court documents said.

Some at Sunday’s vigil said that while the arrest is a step toward justice, it won’t bring Nair back.

“God needed his soldier back, but he will be well missed,” Kroetz said.