'A Very Giving Man': Family Wants Answers In Slaying Of Hemet Man, 77
HEMET (CBSLA.com) — Family members are looking for answers Monday after a 77-year-old Hemet man was shot and killed while he unloaded groceries in his garage over the weekend.
Victor Prinque was shot shortly before 9:15 p.m. Saturday in the 2800 block of W. Fruitvale Avenue.
The victim was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Police said whoever killed Prinque most likely caught him by surprise.
"We're working under the assumption right now that it was either a botched robbery or some kind of robbery that went bad and the victim ended up getting shot," said Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart.
Prinque's wife, who was helping him with the groceries, walked inside the house moments before the attack. When she rushed back outside and saw her husband, she suffered what appeared to be a minor heart attack. She was also taken to the hospital.
"She's doing fine. She's recuperating. I think the shock was a major stress," said the victim's nephew, Ruben Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said he's making funeral arrangements for the man he loved like a father.
"He [was] always there for us … he was a very giving man," he said. "I miss him dearly. I feel like he's going to be coming around the corner at any given minute."
Gonzalez said the family is searching for faith and strength because that's what Prinque would have done.
"He was a very giving man, a very holy man," he said.
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