Heroic 'joker' dies while trying to save a mother and child

A brave man who dressed as a joker to help sick children with laughter therapy was shot dead trying to defend a woman and her baby when they were attacked by a robber in a restaurant.

Humberto Rojas Landa, also known as Doctor Cosquillas, or ‘Doctor Tickle’, was gunned down in a busy restaurant in Puebla, Mexico.

According to witnesses, an armed man broke into the restaurant in the Chulavista area of the city in order to rob customers on February 6.

The heroic clown, also known as Payaso Solecito – Little Sun Clown in English – tried to defend a woman and her son from the armed man and hit him with a water jug.

In retaliation, the robber shot the 51-year-old in the head before fleeing the scene with only a single stolen mobile phone as loot.

Solecito was taken to the hospital where he spent 24 hours fighting for his life before he died.

Municipal police arrived at the scene of the crime and checked the CCTV cameras but the suspect, who was seen running away in the CCTV footage, has not been identified or arrested yet.

Before his death, Rojas Landa was volunteering for laughter therapy to ill children and was also part of other charitable activities.