Cracker Barrel manager shot and killed trying to protect employee was 'just trying to make a living'

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of a beloved Cracker Barrel manager shot and killed in an attempted robbery is pleading for anyone with any information on their loved one's accused killer to come forward.

"Just a senseless way to lose her life. She was just trying to go to work to make a living," Gail said about her sister.

Robin Baucom worked at the restaurant on the North Freeway near Airtex for over 30 years. Her family said it was her second home.

On Saturday morning, Baucom got to work like she did most days. Another employee who had just arrived for work at about 6:15 a.m. was approached by a man in the passenger seat of a Dodge Charger, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The man got out of the car and tried to grab the employee's purse, according to deputies. That's when deputies said Baucom let the employee inside and pushed back on the door to block the suspect from getting in.

The suspect then pulled out a gun and shot Baucom, who later died at the hospital.

Her family wants her to be remembered as a hero who lost her life trying to protect another employee.

"She would have done anything in the world to protect her employees of any of us," her daughter Tina said.

Baucom was a hard-working woman who spent her life working in the restaurant industry.

"When I was starting kindergarten, she started at Cracker Barrel part-time. She would buy me back-to-school clothes," Tina said. "It was supposed to be a couple of months. Thirty-four years later, a heartache, and here we are."

If you talk to any customer who is a regular, they know Baucom. Angelia Richmond said she has been eating at the restaurant for 18 years.

"It didn't matter who you were, she made sure you were taken care of," Richmond said. "She stood out. Not only that, she remembered your name."

Deputies are still searching for the gunman who got away in a 2018 or newer model metallic gray Charger.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call the Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.