JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police say man was shot and killed in a home invasion robbery at a Jacksonville apartment complex early Thursday morning, but a woman and two children in the apartment were not hurt.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says two masked gunmen wearing hoodies broke through the door of unit 310 at the Victoria Park Apartments on Sunbeam Road, just off San Jose Boulevard, just after 1 a.m.
Christopher Smith, who was shot multiple times, was transported to Orange Park Medical Center, where he died.
The woman and the children were sleeping at the time and were not injured.
The relationship between Smith (pictured, right) and other others was not immediately known.
Sgt. Jay Farhat said the killing was "probably not a random act of violence."
Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson agrees, saying people shouldn't worry too much about being a victim of this type of crime.
"Generally the suspects or the person who's going to commit this type of crime know who's on the other side of that door. They know their family members, for the most part," Jefferson said. "They know when they come; they know when they go."
While Smith has had some run-ins with police -- he served jail time for non-violent drug offenses and has several traffic violations -- residents told Channel 4 he was a good neighbor.
"He was very polite and very nice, and we used to talk about sports all the time when I went back and forth to get the mail," said Marshall Stern. "He seemed like a pretty decent fellow."
Stern said they've never seen any violence like this at the complex.
"I've lived here almost 10 years and I find it to be very safe and a good place to live," Stern said.
Police interviewed neighbors and looked for potential witnesses, but have not released any suspect information.
Anyone with any information about the killing is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.