WASHINGTON - A D.C. family is heartbroken after a Metro station manager was gunned down about a block from his Northeast D.C. home early Wednesday, about a half-hour after he got off work.

The body of 52-year-old Eugene Francis Neal Sr. was found near the intersection of 16th and Hamlin streets NE about 1 a.m., D.C. police said in a statement. He had been shot multiple times. Neal lived in the 1500 block of Hamlin NE, police said.

Emergency responders were unable to find any signs of life, police said.

Neal's family says the man's teenage son, 14-year-old Eugene Neal Jr., was the center of his father's life. "He was a great man. He taught me a lot of things. He always kept me on the straight and narrow," said the teen. "They took my father from me. They took my friend. They took my feeling of safety in my own home."

"...My son didn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve to die this way," said Mary Neal, the victim's mother. "Please, please. If you know anything, turn yourself in," she pleaded.

The family says Neal wasn't robbed. They say his truck, keys and wallet were all with him. "They didn't steal anything. They didn't want anything. They just killed him," said the victim's son.

A Metro spokesperson said Neal had worked until 12:30 a.m. at the Takoma Metro Station. The spokesperson described Neal as an outstanding employee.

Police did not release a possible motive in the case.

The Metro spokesperson says Neal was the second Takoma Station manager to be killed in the past year. The identity of the other victim could not be immediately ascertained.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIM[E] (1-888-919-2746). Those wishing to remain anonymous may call D.C. CRIME SOLVERS at 1-866-411-TIPS or contact the department's TEXT TIP LINE by text-messaging 50411.

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