MALDEN, Mass. — For Melissa Clark, Jan. 29, 2013 is never far away. It was the day she lost her husband, the father of her two boys, a former US Marine, and her best friend, Shawn Clark.
Melissa spoke exclusively with FOX25's Bob Ward.
“In some ways, it feels like it's still the first year. When something like this happens time just kind of really warps a little bit. The wound is always open, it's always there. He was just kind of magnetic. And everywhere we went, he was always drawing people in,” she said.
It was just about 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2013, that video surveillance recorded these two hooded men walking into Patriot skate shop in Malden.
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The shop was Shawn's dream.
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He loved the skateboarding community, and he opened it shortly after completing two tours in Iraq.
“There was never a doubt he would call his shop, Patriot. It was the personification of him and his beliefs,” Melissa said.
Moments after the two men walked in to the shop Shawn was shot and killed.
Melissa rushed to the scene, and was met by a Malden police officer. “Your husband was shot with a small caliber weapon. Ok...He said he didn't make it,” she was told.
“I think I probably said the word, no. A good hundred times, and just said in the car, and said no, no, no, I don't believe you. He made it home from a war zone twice. No,” Melissa remembers
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told FOX25, “We have spent, as have the investigators, the state police assigned to my office, Malden police, countless hours, interviewing people, looking at that video.”
Ryan is overseeing the investigation and her office recently released an image of one of the suspects, as well as a portion of the surveillance video.
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The full video shows what happened to Shawn.
Shawn was working in the store, two men went in to the store and there was a confrontation, continuing to the doorway of the store. During that confrontation, Shawn was shot multiple times by one of those men.
Melissa believes her husband died, fighting for what he believed in
“I absolutely have no doubt that my husband fought back. That was just in his nature. It was in his training, it was who Shawn was,” she said.
Three years later, Melissa is raising her sons, alone, but she is also searching for justice and wants her husband’s killers caught.
“They didn't really rob the shop, they robbed us. I don’t think anybody should be able to get away with that,” she said.
Reward for Arrest
There is a substantial reward offered for information leading to the arrest of Shawn Clark's killers.
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Anyone with information is asked to call Mass State Police at (781) 897-6600 or Malden police at (781) 397-7171.
If you have an unsolved you’d like to look into, call (877) NE-UNSOLVED or email newenglandsunsolved@fox25.com.
Cox Media Group