Benjamin S. Jeffery, 49, was killed on Monday, January 27, 2025, during a shooting at about 5:30 p.m. inside a Martin’s Super Market in Elkhart, Indiana. He was a customer at the store when the attack occurred; another victim, 19-year-old employee Annasue Rocha, was also killed. The lone gunman was identified as 54-year-old Juan M. Sanchez.

After opening fire inside the store, Sanchez exited the building and was confronted by two Elkhart police officers, Corporal Paul Vandenburg and Patrolman Ethan Pasternak. Sanchez shot and injured both officers before they returned fire and fatally shot him in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex. The motive remained under investigation by the Elkhart County Homicide Unit.

Known to friends and family as Ben, Jeffery was remembered as a kind, loving man with a strong sense of humor who loved God and people. He had previously suffered the 2001 deaths of his first wife Angela and their daughters Sarah and Kaitlyn in a house fire and was working on a book about grief at the time of his death; his family hopes to complete and publish it in his honor. Does anyone who knew Ben or was at the store that evening have information to share?