Slain former Wichita officer and QuikTrip security guard remembered for helping others

A QuikTrip security guard who died Friday after having been shot earlier this week was a former Wichita police officer who looked out for his store’s patrons, according to multiple sources.

Will Robinson died Friday afternoon. He was shot Wednesday night while working at the QuikTrip at Murdock and Broadway. Police have arrested the suspected shooter.

A GoFundMe page described Robinson as a “husband to a loving wife and father to two beautiful children.”

On Friday, a few people across the street from the business recounted their interactions with Robinson.

“Security guard Mr. Will, he was a good security guard,” Antonio Zapata said. “I mean he always helped out all the homeless people.”

Jeramie Swope, who is homeless, said he once showed up at the QuikTrip without shoes after his were stolen. Robinson gave him his old Wichita police boots and a pair of socks, he said.

“Good man,” Swope said. “He really was.”

Robinson told people not to steal and dipped into his own pocket to help the homeless.

James Cochran, who is homeless, said he was once 60 cents short on a drink and Robinson gave him $5.

Dallas Nix, who lives nearby, saw Robinson on his regular nightly visits to the QuikTrip. Robinson was friendly and late at night would even pay some of the homeless to help out around the convenience store, he said.

“He knew a lot of the people in this area by name,” he said, adding that the area has a bad reputation. “But he was out to kind of change that.”

QuikTrip Corporation spokesperson Aisha Jefferson-Smith said Robinson had been with the company for over a year.

“On behalf of the QuikTrip Family, we wish to express our deepest sympathies, our thoughts, and prayers to Will’s family and friends,” Jefferson-Smith said in an email. “There are not enough words to capture our sorrow. QuikTrip is absolutely devastated and heart-broken by the tragic loss of Will.”

The GoFundMe was set up before Robinson’s passing to help “support and assist the family,” the fundraiser says. As of 11:30 a.m. Saturday, it had raised more than $24,900 of the $30,000 goal.

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Slain former Wichita officer and QuikTrip security guard remembered for helping others."