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Two masked assailants parked Friday evening outside a brick ranch home on a dead-end street in Omaha’s Millard area, then gunned down a 50-year-old man inside, police said.

Michael Brinkman was shot about 5:40 p.m. in his house at 18139 Tammy Trail. Violent crime of the stripe that killed the roofing contractor is extraordinary in the neighborhood where it occurred.

Police had not announced an arrest late Friday.

Homicide detectives interviewed two of Brinkman’s relatives at Central Police Headquarters downtown Friday evening. The relatives were at the home at the time and were interviewed as witnesses. Their names and relation to Brinkman were not released.

Police were investigating the slaying’s underlying motive.

The initial call to emergency dispatchers indicated that two assailants wearing clown masks had attempted a robbery.

“We’re investigating it as a possible robbery,” Omaha Police Lt. Jerry Siedlik said, adding that police are not certain that robbery motivated the killing.

Siedlik declined to say how many times Brinkman was shot.

Brinkman had owned a roofing company, Xcel Roofing, though he had recently sold the business.