Shoplifters beat up store worker, 60, who runs after them. Then they hit him with car several times; he dies in parking lot.

Shoplifters beat up a 60-year-old Southern California store worker who pursued them Wednesday — and then the crooks ran over him with a car several times, after which he died in the parking lot.

The suspects reportedly stole a $10 bag of face masks.

‘I really don’t know if life is worth it any more.’

Kourosh “Steve” Yaghoubi was helping at his brother’s shop — Giant Discount — in the 2000 block of Durfee Avenue in El Monte around 12:20 p.m. when a group of people entered the store and stole a box of disposable masks, KTLA-TV reported.

Yaghoubi chased after the shoplifters, who witnesses said physically attacked him — hitting him in the head and knocking him to the ground, the station said.

The suspects then entered a sedan and deliberately struck the victim with the vehicle several times, KNBC-TV reported, citing Los Angeles County homicide investigators.

The victim’s family said the suspects ran over Yaghoubi while he was lying defenseless in the middle of the parking lot, KTLA said, adding that paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. You can view KTLA’s video report here.

Investigators believe there are two to three suspects, KNBC said, although not all of them entered the store. The station added that there were no clear descriptions of the suspects. You can view KNBC’s video report here.

Detectives on Wednesday evening canvassed the area on foot and knocked on doors in search of leads that could help in their investigation, KTLA reported.

The victim’s brother John told KNBC that Yaghoubi was “the love of the family” and that he “fed everybody he could.”

The family has been touched by a similar tragedy before. Another brother, Rahmatolah Yaghoubi, was beaten to death in an “unprovoked attack” in Anaheim in 2021, KNBC added.

“I really don’t know if life is worth it any more. I can’t take it any more,” John added to KNBC. “Two people in my family died in four years. Not just died, killed.”

John added to KTLA that his mother is 94 years old, and “she’s still in mourning for the first one. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her.”

The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, KTLA said, adding that anonymous tips can be provided online or by calling 800-222-8477.

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