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Man Dies Trying To Protect Family From Robbers

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Jul 5, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern

Man Dies Trying To Protect Family From Robbers

WYANDANCH, N.Y. (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Sinclair Merchant (right) died trying to protect his family and friends from armed intruders.
CBS

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It went from the scene of a celebration to the scene of a botched and deadly robbery.

After a big July 4th bash at their home, Diane Merchant and her husband Sinclaire Merchant were hosting their weekly late night card game when the two masked men yanked open a locked screen door and busted in with guns.

"When he came in, he said nobody moves - nobody gets hurt," Diane Merchant said.

Just as one of the men shouted those words witnesses said the other man started firing a shotgun. Two women were shot, but Sinclair Merchant tried to fight back.

"He just took the initiative to get up and help everyone," Merchant said.

The men shot and killed Merchant as he approached them with a chair.

"He died a hero. He touched everybody's life," witness Renee Woods said.

Police say the men announced a robbery as they came in but once the shots were fired chaos ensued and the two men ran out, taking nothing.

"It seems it was a robbery that went bad," said Lieutenant Jack Fitzpatrick of the Suffolk County Police Department. "I would suspect they knew there was a card game, but it was friends - not high stakes at that location."

Police are searching for the two men who gained nothing, but took the life of a husband, father and friend.

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