A good family man is how neighbours describe the 39-year-old Hamilton father killed in what police believe was a targeted shooting in front of his home.

“We are shocked,” said neighbour Kelly DeLuca. “He’s a family man. He’s a good man. He wasn’t into drugs or anything. We can’t believe it.”

Two young children were home when he was shot early Friday morning in front of his home on West 4th Street near Richwill Road which is north of Mohawk Road West.

He was found by his wife and a neighbour on the road beside his black Mercedes and police were called around 6:30 a.m. He was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead after 7 a.m.

Police believe the shooting was targeted, but the man was not known to police.

Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said police don’t know the motive for the shooting. There is no indication illegal activity or drugs were involved. Police do not have any suspects and there were no witnesses.

Bereziuk said the man was going to work when he was shot.

His social media profile lists him as a form setter and finisher at a Hamilton concrete company. The Spectator is not naming him because not all of his family have been notified yet.

“He was a very nice guy,” said another neighbour, Joel Brown. “It’s surreal.”

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Brown left for work early that morning, but didn’t see anything unusual.

“I was half asleep,” he said. “I got my coffee and left for work.”

The timing has left more than one neighbour remorseful that they didn’t notice anything amiss and asking themselves “what if.”

“I didn’t see him,” said John Bielic who says he left for work right after police believe the man was shot.

“I feel bad,” he said. “ I don’t know if it made a difference.”

Bielic says he was in his backyard smoking before he left.

“I didn’t hear anything,” he said. “I would have heard it. I was in the military.”

He didn’t discover a shooting had taken place until he got to work.

“You don’t expect anything like that,” he said about the cul-de-sac on West 4th. “It’s quiet.”

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He says it’s such a safe neighbourhood that the kids go freely between houses.

“They run around the street,” he said. “They’re out playing.”

DeLuca said she often saw the man with his family.

“He was always home and playing with the kids,” she said. “He took them places. They just got back from Great Wolf Lodge.”

She described him as a good provider for his family.

“He worked everyday,” she said.

Another neighbour also described him as a family man.

“He was always spending time with his family,” said the neighbour who did not want to be named. “He was a cool guy. Whenever I saw him he said, ‘Hi.’ He was cheerful.”

This is Hamilton’s 13th homicide of 2019.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Dave Brewster by calling 905-546-4067.

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With files from Katrina Clarke