A 56-year-old man was “literally scared to death” during a gunpoint robbery, police said.

The unidentified man was among four people working on a remodeling project at a restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin, when two masked armed robbers entered and held the group captive for up to an hour while they robbed the restaurant, around 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to Fox 8.

About 45 minutes in, the man suffered a fatal medical emergency, officials said, adding that the bandits would not allow the other workers to help him.

“You have an instance where the victim was literally scared to death,” Chief Mike Koval of the Madison police said.

Police are investigating the man’s death as a homicide.

“There’s vileness. There’s a certain despicability about the whole thing,” Koval said.