Benjamin Taylor Johnson, 31, was fatally shot Monday outside the pawn shop he managed in Southeast Portland after someone tried to steal from the store, a family member said.

Portland police on Tuesday identified Johnson as the victim of the homicide. He was pronounced dead outside USA Pawn & Jewelry at 8001 S.E. Powell Blvd.

Police continue to search for the person who killed Johnson in the parking lot of the shopping complex at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard around 3 p.m. Monday.

"It’s my understanding somebody was trying to steal something from the store and he wasn’t going to have that,'' Johnson’s older sister, Abbey Johnson, told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

She said her brother had worked in the pawn shop business in his home state of Minnesota before he was transferred about four years ago to the USA Pawn shop in Portland. He didn’t let people take advantage of him, "didn’t let anybody lowball him'' on transactions, she said.

Benjamin Johnson stood about 6-foot-2 inches tall and could be hard-headed, sarcastic, stubborn, she said, but he loved the work he did and he considered his co-workers "his team.''

"They were his family out there,'' she said.

Other employees of the store are planning to hold a memorial outside the shop about 6 or 7 p.m. Tuesday.

19 Man shot and killed in SE Portland shopping complex

David Shepherd said he was parked near WinCo when he heard a gunshot Monday afternoon.

“I just ran,” he said. He came toward USA Pawn and Jewelry, where a man was on the ground on his back. Shepherd said he noticed the man had multiple gunshot wounds.

Shepherd said he and several others who were in the area tried to help Johnson — using a sweater to stanch the blood flow, performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He said the man briefly started breathing again for a moment before stopping.

Investigators are examining video surveillance footage from the shopping complex.

Johnson’s family members, who are mostly in Bloomington, Minnesota, gathered Tuesday after learning of his death from a friend of his in Portland before police reached them. Benjamin Johnson was the third of four children.

He had no family in Portland. He loved to travel and reached a goal of visiting all 50 states before he turned 30. He also loved to visit national parks, his family said.

Abbey Johnson said she last saw her brother in mid-March, when he returned home for a weekend to attend their grandmother’s funeral.

She said she spoke to him on Sunday and was surprised to learn that he was going to work. Her brother told her the business was described as "essential'' during the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbey Johnson said she hopes police arrest the person who took her brother’s life.

"I’m hoping somebody will pay for this,'' she said.

Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering cash rewards of up to $2,500 for information reported to Crime Stoppers that leads to an arrest. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Visit the App Store and download P3 Tips to submit secure and anonymous tips. Online tips also can be made at https://www.p3tips.com/823, or call 503-823-HELP (4357).

Police also ask anyone with information about the shooting to contact Detective Erik Kammerer at (503) 823-0762 or erik.kammerer@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Mark Slater at (503) 823-9319 or mark.slater@portlandoregon.gov.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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