They timed their robbery just a few minutes before employees would lock the door for the night at the Dollar General at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
The armed men not only took money from an employee inside the store, 54-year-old Deric Ford, Sr., they also took his life.
"When I found out who he was, I said, 'The manager there?' because he always opened up in the morning, walked up and down, speak, talk to everybody, real friendly," said Shelton Winston, a barber who works at a neighboring business.
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"Sometimes when people go there and they may be short or something, he would go in his pocket and give them the money,” added Darrell Alexander. “So I don't see why anyone would want to rob him, because he was a very, very nice guy."
It appears Ford had already opened the cash register and was handing over the money when someone shot him for no apparent reason.
"He's complying with their demands and these cold, calloused, heartless killers execute him and why? I think that's what we all kind of pause and say, 'Why?'" said Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis.
Police canvassed the area in and around the shopping center handing out flyers in hopes of developing information, which could lead them to Ford's killers.
In a city, which certainly has more than its share of murders, this one strikes home on a day when yet another mayor has unveiled yet another plan for stopping the violence.
"It doesn't sit right with society when folks who are considered vulnerable based on age or occupation or circumstance are victims of murders," said Davis.
Anyone with information on the crime or the suspects is asked to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
