MALDEN (CBS) – A war veteran was shot and killed outside his Malden business Tuesday afternoon.

Shawn Clark, 39, owned Patriot Skateboard Shop. He was gunned down at 12:44 at the store. According to family members, Clark served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was a dream to open the skateboard shop when he came home from combat.

“You think of what he’s been through over there. To come back here and get gunned down in front of his business, it’s horrifying,” said Brian Clark, the victim’s uncle.

The owner of a neighboring business tells WBZ he heard gunshots and then saw two men running away from the scene. He didn’t know what had happened until he ran to the skateboard shop and saw Clark had been shot.

Police descended on Main Street, shutting it down for several hours.

Meanwhile word spread quickly through the skateboarding community of which Clark was a big part.

“Such a big sense of shock I don’t think it’s hit a lot of people yet because he was such a mentor to us,” said Jimmy Nygro.

Many young skateboarders held a candlelight vigil outside the business Tuesday night. They talked about all the young people Clark had helped.

“The kids really loved him. You look at it online and Facebook and you just see how much he helped out some of these kids,” Brian Clark said.

Clark was married with two young sons.

Police have not said what led to the shooting. Tuesday afternoon, the District Attorney released a statement saying no one had been charged in the murder.