An employee of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Milpitas near police headquarters was found dead from a shotgun wound early Saturday morning, town police reported.

"There are detectives working non-stop on this one," Lt. Daryl Sequeira said Sunday morning as police continued to investigate the homicide. They had no information on the number of murders in the city this year.

Police received a call shortly after 2 a.m. about an injured person inside the store at 1496 N. Milpitas Blvd. and only one block from the city's main police department. Sequeira said officers found the victim, a male employee, lying on the floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The store and the parking lot were cordoned off with yellow police tape Sunday and a private security guard stood in front to ward off customers, the curious, news reporters and photographers. Meanwhile, police were not releasing the identity or age of the victim or any information they might have gathered on the shooter. A store manager declined to comment and said news agencies will be called by corporate spokesmen.

Except for the yellow-tape police line, the only indication that something horrible had happened were the two bouquets of flowers place at the foot of a nearby lamp post.

A few concerned neighbors gathered outside the store Sunday and wondered aloud about the details of the homicide. The store sits on a corner with a busy boulevard in front and surrounded by a

Wanda Moppins, lives across the street from the store, said she and her family did not recall anything out of the ordinary occurring that night.

"I heard nothing, absolutely nothing," Moppins said. She and another neighbor speculated that a black Jaguar sedan parked in the store's lot belonged to the victim, an elderly clerk who may have been a new employee.

Anyone with any information regarding this case may call the Milpitas Police Department at (408) 586-2400. Information can also be given anonymously by calling (408) 586-2500 or via the Milpitas Police Department website at:

Contact Joe Rodriguez at 408-920-5767. Follow him on Twitter.com/JoeRodMercury.