Residents living at Marquette Heights Apartments in Security say the man shot and killed there Tuesday night was harmless, homeless and sleeping in the hallway.

No one knew his name, although he was later identified by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office as 42-year-old Oscar Martinez.

One resident, who identified himself only as William J., said the man showed up at the Marquette Drive complex around Thanksgiving, and he'd often see him sitting outside in a grassy area or on the front stoop.

The man mainly kept to himself and barely spoke, William J. said.

Janet Martinez said her only interaction with the man was offering him a cigarette outside from time to time.

"He seemed really sweet," she said.

Clarence Pyles Jr. talked to the sleeping man briefly when he passed him in the hall just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. Pyles said he was on his way to the 7-Eleven across the street to get change for laundry.

"I said, 'Hey.' And he said 'Hey.' I asked him if he needed a couple bucks and he said no," Pyles said. "I kept walking."

When he returned, law enforcement was already there, Pyles said.

Martinez was found shot to death in the second-story hallway of the complex. He had multiple gunshot wounds, and the El Paso County coroner ruled his death a homicide, according to the Sheriff's Office. Deputies are searching for the shooter.

"We have absolutely no suspect information, no description at this point in time, so we would encourage the neighborhood to be vigilant and if they see anything suspicious, to contact us immediately at our dispatch center," spokeswoman Jacqueline Kirby told The Gazette on Tuesday.

William J. said he heard "two real loud gunshots, like pop! pop!" that evening but was too afraid to peek outside of his door. He doesn't remember hearing anyone run away.

When he did look out after law enforcement arrived, he said he noticed everyone gathering around the homeless man he had seen sleeping there two hours earlier.

The man had been curled up along the wall outside Apartment 207, which was about the halfway point between the stairwells, William J. said. Now the man's arms and legs were outstretched, he said.

Wednesday, several pieces of hard flooring had been ripped up and removed outside the apartment door. A maintenance worker started replacing them later in the afternoon.

William J. said he'd seen his neighbors in 207 yelling with the homeless man before. On one occasion, the man was standing outside in the yard and was yelling back and forth with people in the window of Apartment 207, William J. said.

A man in the apartment did not want to talk to The Gazette.

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The Gazette's Ellie Mulder contributed to this report.