Beloved 82-year-old man in hospital after being attacked by thief at Hillsborough Home Depot

A Home Depot employee is in the hospital with several broken bones after being shoved down by a man stealing merchandise.

A man was caught on surveillance video shoving Gary Rasor while taking pressure washers.

On Tuesday, a suspect appeared to push the 82-year-old Rasor down at the Home Depot in Hillsborough. Rasor looked to have hit his head on a flower pot.

"We need YOUR help in identifying this guy before somebody else gets hurt," the Hillsborough police department's Facebook post read.

Rasor is a fan favorite among customers at the Home Depot, where most just know him as Mr. Gary.

"Everyone loves him, he's an outstanding individual," said Andy Simmons with Hillsborough police. "And then somebody does something like this to him just to commit a larceny, it’s absolutely ridiculous."

Police said the suspect left the store in a white, four-door, Hyundai Sonata with a North Carolina Temporary tag obscured from witnesses.

"I never thought for a million years that a customer would actually attack him," said Yovone Bucholtz-Rasor, Rasor's wife.

"I don’t know when he’s going to get out, he cannot walk on the right leg at all," said Bucholtz-Rasor, who has been married to Rasor for 30 years.

Home Depot has agreed to pay for Rasor's medical bills. The company said organized retail crime is a growing problem at its stores.

Rasor's wife says she hopes police find the attacker so they can focus on healing.

"It’s hard because I don’t know what the future is going to hold for him," she said. "I hope that he’s going to have a full recovery."

If you have any information on the suspect, you're asked to email Investigator Jones at andrew.jones@hillsboroughnc.gov or 919-296-9562. You can also send police a message on Facebook.