The family of a man shot in the head at a small grocery store in southeast Portland about a week ago described the now paralyzed father of two as a generous, hard-working business owner who had been living the American Dream before a bullet rendered him quadriplegic.

Chester Yeom was shot in the head during a robbery attempt at a Belmont grocery store.

Chester Yeom had been filling in for his friend, the owner of the Belmont Market, when he was shot during a March 4th robbery.

"Chester... was admitted to OHSU with... spine and spinal cord injuries... The bullet entered his right ear and is dislodged somewhere between his 1st and 3rd vertebrae,” said Andrew Chung, Yeom’s brother-in-law.

Yeom remains hospitalized on a ventilator in critical condition.

Background: Neighborhood shocked by shooting

“This is a permanent injury and Chester will require a lifetime ventilator support and continuous supervision and care,” Chung said.

Yeom immigrated to Oregon in 1982 and worked hard to begin his own small business, according to family. He owns a popular teriyaki shop in the U.S. Bank Tower and is the father of a 14-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter.

“Chester is best described as a man that focused on family and work in addition to being an active church member. He has been an upstanding citizen in his community and has always sought to better himself as well as the community he lives in,” Chung said.