Man Warned Not to Look at Robbers Does and Is Killed

A man was shot to death in an apartment Wednesday night when he apparently looked at two robbers after they had ordered him to keep his head down, police said.

Details of the shooting were sketchy, but Police Sgt. Chet Barry said that two men burst into an apartment on the 100 block of South Fahrion Place about 7 p.m. and tried to rob the three male occupants at gunpoint.

“It looks like a residential robbery,” Barry said. “During the course of the robbery, the suspects said, ‘Don’t look at us,’ and apparently one of the victims did and he was promptly shot.”

The victim, Jose Duque, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been shot several times, Barry said.

“This is pure speculation on my part, but it looks like the victim was prone . . . on the floor” when he was shot, he said.

After the shooting, the gunmen fled. Police were not immediately able to determine whether anything was taken from the apartment

A preliminary investigation indicated that there was no forced entry into the apartment and that a small-caliber handgun was used in the shooting. Barry said the incident did not appear to be either gang or drug related.

The two surviving victims, who were also not identified, were taken to the Police Department for questioning. The two-story stucco apartment complex was cordoned off as homicide detectives investigated the scene.