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Laurel Man Shot Dead Outside His Home; First Homicide Of 2012 In Anne Arundel Co.

LAUREL, Md. (WJZ)-- A Laurel man is gunned down outside his own home in Anne Arundel County's first murder of the year, and his killers are still on the loose.

Weijia Jiang has the latest from police and a heartbroken neighborhood.

Neighbors are stunned-- crime is rare in the area, let alone something so violent.

Gregory Sears, 36, often talked with neighbors about how excited he was to become a father. They say his wife is due to give birth to their first baby in a couple of weeks.

But just before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Sears was gunned down right outside his home on the 8000-block of Ians Alley in Laurel.

"We moved in at the same time in 2004. He and his wife Sarah are a really nice couple. He's a great guy," said Andy Talbert, who lives a couple of doors away from the Sears'.

Police say two men wearing masks approached Sears, who was in the driveway.

Police believe the suspects were trying to rob Sears when it turned into a deadly attack. At this point, they don't know if the men knew Sears or if they followed him home.

"Our bedroom is right there on the back and this is where it happened," Shannon Howard, a neighbor, said. "We woke up, scared to know what's going on."

Howard, her husband, and three children live right across the alley from Sears'. The gunshots jolted them awake in more ways than one.

"Our kids play outside daily," Anthony Howard said. "To know something like that happened in your neighborhood is definitely disturbing or uncomfortable."

As families try to regain a sense of peace, Sears' loved ones try to make sense of the violence. A makeshift memorial is growing in the very spot he was killed and robbed of his life.

Meanwhile, police are still looking for a killer.

Metro Crime Stoppers are passing out flyers offering $2,000 for good information.

Police have no suspects right now. They're saturating the neighborhood with extra patrols as the investigation continues.

Funeral arrangements for Sears have not been finalized.

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