Friends and family are looking for answers after a Catholic University student was gunned down while riding his bicycle home from work early Sunday morning in Petworth.

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Thirty-one-year-old Neil Godleski, a biology student, was only about a half-mile from home when he was fatally shot in Sherman Circle NW, about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

Godleski was biking home from Phillips Restaurant in Southwest Washington, where he had worked for seven years as a server.

Police sources say detectives are focusing on robbery as a possible motive in the case, but the sources say nothing was taken from the victim.

A search of MPD crime data shows no other robberies involving guns within a 1,500 feet of the crime scene in the past month.

Friends like Denise Richards, who lived next door to Godleski for five years, say he was not the type to fight back.

"If you want to rob him, he would have said, 'I don't want no trouble. Here, you can have it,'" Richards said. "This was unnecessary. He was a nice guy, a nice, nice, nice guy."

"When do I get a chance to say goodbye?" she asked, saying she'll remember him for his humor and warm heart.

"He was extremely kind, generous, had an open heart, opened his home to so many friends, co-workers, and family -- anyone who needed anything," added Jaclyn Holmes, another friend.

Chervell Goodman fought back tears thinking of her friend and co-worker's final moments, when he was shot multiple times and left to die.

"If he was just there. . . I'm sorry," she said. "If he was just there by himself at the end, just someone to hold his hand."

A Catholic University spokesman tells ABC 7 News: "It's a great tragedy to lose a member of our community under these circumstances. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

Friends gathered at a Mass Sunday night to remember Godleski. He will be buried in Connecticut, his home state.

Friends say Godleski's sister is supposed to get married this weekend.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at (202) 727-9099. A reward of up to $25,000 is offered to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.