Milton man killed, teen critical after shooting

• Residents of the apartment complex where the two were found said the victims were brothers who lived with their mother

Police are investigating a shooting in Milton that left one man dead and a teen boy in critical condition early Monday, state police said. They identified the man who died as Rogelio Martinez Hernandez, 20, of Milton.

Residents of the apartment complex where the two were found said the victims were brothers who lived with their mother in an apartment there. "We're upset," said one man, who gathered in the courtyard with neighbors to discuss the violence. "It's a shame, what happened."

A Milton police officer responded to a 911 report of shots fired in the area of the Park Royal Apartments, 501 Palmer, St., at 2:42 a.m., state police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said.

The officer found two male victims in a vehicle parked outside the 400 building of the apartment complex. The officer provided first aid until Sussex County Paramedics and EMS arrived and transported the two victims to an area hospital, Fournier said.

A woman who lives at the apartments said she awoke around 2:40 a.m. to police sirens. Looking out her window, she said, she saw the man who died in a car. "All I could see with the older person was a lot of blood," said the woman, who declined to give her name.

Hernandez, 20, was pronounced dead at the hospital and another victim, 14, was admitted in critical condition, Fournier said.

Friends of Hernandez who gathered at the apartments Monday morning said he went by a nickname, Chico, and had graduated from Cape Henlopen High School a few years ago.

State Police homicide detectives are conducting an investigation into the shooting at the request of Milton Police.

Additional information will be released "as soon as it becomes available and the investigation continues," Fournier said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective J. King at (302) 741-2821 or us the Delaware State Police Mobile Crime Tip Application available at www.delaware.gov/apps. Information also may be provided to Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333 or at www.tipsubmit.com.