Family mourns 80-year-old Houston veteran who died from injuries in alleged attack over parking spot

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston military veteran has died after a brutal attack in northwest Harris County.

Family members identified the victim as 80-year-old Earl Hollins after he was allegedly beaten down on Friday outside Food Town on FM 1960.

Investigators originally thought it was a robbery gone wrong but later determined the suspect, Anthony Boyce, and Hollins got into a disagreement over a parking spot, which turned violent.

READ RELATED: Suspect charged after critically injuring 80-year-old man in N. Harris Co. parking lot, sheriff says

Hollins suffered severe head trauma, slipped into a coma, and was not expected to recover. His family told ABC13 he was taken off life support on Saturday night and died.

"What he (did), it wasn't right...it wasn't human," Hollins' niece, Elma Hollins-Washington, said.

Hollins and Boyce were originally thought to be strangers, but investigators revealed they had been acquainted before the incident.

"Someone was saying that he knew the guy because they always used to be around Food Town," Hollins-Washington said.

According to investigators, Boyce and Hollins' disagreement was over a simple parking space.

Boyce allegedly attacked Hollins and then took off in his truck.

"I said, 'My god, over a parking spot. You're going to injure my uncle, and now, finally, he's dead, and it was over a parking spot,'" Hollins-Washington said.

Hollins-Washington said the family is still in complete disbelief.

"You took something great from us, something that we will never get over," Hollins-Washington said.

Uncle Earl, as Hollins-Washington liked to call him, was a father, a grandfather, and a military veteran.

She said he was a straight-shooter who had seen and done many things in his life, often making him the most interesting person in the room.

"He was one of a kind. I mean, to know him, you have to love him. He was an easygoing person, and he was friendly," Hollins-Washington said.

Hollins, a person who lead with love according to family, lost his life in an act of such hate.

"During the holiday time too. It's hard...it's really hard," Hollins-Washington said.

Boyce was in court Saturday. He's currently facing one charge of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, however those charges could be upgraded.

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