Debbie Hernandez was tearful as she spoke of her brother-in-law, Feliz Gomez Vasquez, 28, who was shot and killed last Friday night after he stepped outside his apartment to speak with someone.

"Our family is ripped apart because we don't understand why someone took Feliz from us," Hernandez said.

Hernandez arrived shortly after the shooting and found Vasquez lying quietly on the sidewalk. She called for help.

"One the phone with 911, (they were) asking me to make sure he had a pulse; he didn't have a pulse," she said.

Vasquez was a married father of two small children, including a son in Mexico he never got a chance to see in person.

Kent police are mystified by the killing. Investigators said Vasquez was a hard worker with no apparent enemies and didn't involved in drugs or gangs.

"He did not appear to have any persons who had a grudge against him or a motive to attack him," said Lt. Pat Lowery with the Kent Police Department.

Police believe that sine Vasquez left the apartment to speak with someone outside, he may have known his killer. But at this point, that's about all police know.

Friday, police took the unusual step of inviting the victim's family members to a news conference, hoping that their pleas for help from the public would help find the killer.

"We want closure in this and we want whoever did this to be held accountable, and tell us why he felt it was so important to take our brother from us," Hernandez said.

Puget Sound CrimeStoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever killed Vasquez.