The head of Colorado's prisons was fatally shot in the front doorway of his home Tuesday. Police have no suspects, no known motive, and very few clues other than a vague description of a suspicious vehicle seen in the area of the shooting.
Colorado Prison Chief, 58-year-old Tom Clements was shot to death at about 8:30 p.m. as he came to answer the front door of his home in Monument, Colo., according to CNN.
"It's an active investigation. We don't know anything -- or enough -- at this point," explained Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, as he fought back tears, ABC reported.
Police are reportedly still conducting meticulous searches throughout the area around the crime scene in Celements' neighborhood. Authorities spoke to a witness who claimed they saw a "suspicious vehicle" parked on a street near Clements' residence "running but empty," roughly 200 yards away, around the same time his family phoned 911 about the killing, police said, according to ABC.
"The vehicle was observed by this resident parked there, but it was running at the time," said Lt. Jeff Kramer. "Two to three minutes later that vehicle was gone. Then, two minutes after that -- we're up to 8:37 p.m. -- that same local resident saw the vehicle traveling westbound."
The suspicious vehicle is being described as a "boxy, dark colored" 1990s-model car, possibly a Lincoln.
Lt. Kramer recognized that Celements' job "opens up the possibility of different people that would want to target him for one reason or another," however, he said police aren't "aware of any threats."
"We don't know if the shooting was random at this point. Because we have no suspect, we can't identify a motive," he added.
Gov. Hickenlooper chose Clements as head of Colorado's Department of Corrections in 2011. Prior to assuming the position, he worked for 31 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Clements is survived by his wife, Lisa Clements, and his two daughters.
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