ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Altamonte Springs police are looking for two killers after a 22-year-old man was murdered when gunmen fired several bullets through his front door Tuesday night.

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SLIDESHOW: Images From The Scene

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Shane Ellis, 22, was in his Oasis at Pearl Lakes apartment (see map) Tuesday night when two men tried to force their way inside and then shot him through the door. The killers escaped and police have few clues.

The 22-year-old victim has been arrested at least four times, once, before he even turned 18, for battery. In 2006, he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Investigators don't know how or if those past run-ins with the law may have played into his murder.

"He's like, 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die.' And I'm like, 'You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it,'" said eyewitness Daphne Warren.

Her words of comfort were not enough to save Ellis. Bullet holes were left in his door after the attempted home invasion turned deadly.

Tom Grace and his kids just moved to the Oasis at Pearl Lakes apartments. They saw the commotion Tuesday night.

"It's pretty scary, especially having two kids," he said.

Around 10:00pm, Altamonte Springs police said, two men knocked at Ellis' second floor apartment. With two guest already in the apartment, Ellis answered the unexpected knock by cracking the door just slightly. That's when the men tried to force their way inside and opened fire as Ellis held the door shut.

After getting off three shots, the suspects ran and neighbors chased.

"We chased them all the way out to here and we just did not see them. Don't know whether they went this way or to the road," said eyewitness Zaid Masudi.

Altamonte Springs police don't know how or even if Ellis and the men knew each other. Because the door was closed, neither Ellis' girlfriend nor his other guest got a good look at the men, but police said the sort of attack is almost never completely random.

"Detectives are trying to pinpoint and determine whether there is a connection," said Kristin Kelting, Altamonte Springs Police Department.

Police said they haven't been called out to Ellis' apartment before and said the complex has never been a magnet for trouble, but some residents said there are just too many non-residents coming and going.

Police are hoping for leads from the public and urge anyone with information about the fatal shooting to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.