WEST PALM BEACH – A 31-year-old man was shot dead early this morning in a gas station parking lot in what police are calling an apparent robbery attempt.

Police cordoned off the Citgo gas station at 45th Street and Haverhill Road for about four hours during their investigation this morning after a passing driver noticed Levon Russell Cummings of West Palm Beach lying dead alongside his car about 5 a.m.

The car’s driver-side window had been smashed and he had fallen to the ground alongside his parked Mitsubishi Lancer after being shot, police say.

Detectives said he was on his way home from his job at a distribution plant, but it was not clear why he had stopped at the dark gas station.

A convenience store at the station is open 24 hours a day, but Cummings had parked on the opposite side of the lot, near the sidewalk and an air pump for inflating tires.

“That’s as far as we got,” said West Palm Beach police Lt. Tony Kalil. “We’re looking for any witnesses to come forward.”

A clerk was working in the convenience store at the time but did not hear or see anything, said a store manager.

“It’s bad for my business,” said the manager, Mohammed Chy. “People are going to be scared to come here. I’m nervous too.”

Cummings’ mother, Bettye Cummings, said she was grieving the loss of her youngest son.

 “He was a hard worker and a good son,” she said. “And he was an extremely well-mannered man.”

Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call West Palm Beach police at (866) 312-7193  or if you’d like to remain anonymous and be eligible for up to $1,000 REWARD call Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS.

(souce: Palmbeachpost.com)